Artificial satellite

An artificial satellite was a man-made form of technology that was put in orbit around a planet. () They had countless applications, including defense, weather forecasting, surveillance, and communication, and were used by many cultures.
==History==
===Earth===
Earth launched its first artificial satellite, Sputnik, in 1957. This milestone was monitored by a Vulcan team. ()
By 1968, weather satellites were used. ()
By the late 20th century, the cryonics fad had resulted in space modules being put into Earth's orbit. ()
According to Tom Paris, by 1996 Earth had surveillance satellites in orbit. Satellite dishes were used for communication with satellites. ()
In 2024, news services used satellite images to assess what was happening in Sanctuary District A during the Bell Riots. The images showed several potential casualties. ()
By 2154, Starfleet Operations operated a grid of satellites in Earth orbit, capable of picking up any transporter activity on the planet. ()
===Vulcan===
In 2097, the Vulcan High Command put a surveillance satellite in orbit of Weytahn to monitor potential violations of the Treaty of 2097. ()
By 2154, had a network of security satellites in orbit, providing satellite surveillance. ()
===United Federation of Planets===
By the second half of the 24th century, Earth relied on a network of satellites for communications. () Navigational control satellites were also in use, one of which was in orbit of Saturn. ()
By 2370, the Prytt Alliance became concerned that the Federation was helping the to develop attack satellites and claimed to have developed countermeasures. ()
By 2372, the Federation had deployed a relay satellite on the Gamma Quadrant side of the Bajoran wormhole. ()
===Other species===
Lazarus claimed to have survived the destruction of his civilization by being occupied with inspecting magnetic communications satellites when the destruction occurred. ()
A Xindi-Arboreal colony visited by in 2153 had no artificial satellites. ()
Satellites were used to generate the dispersion field protecting parts of the Torothan homeworld from orbital scans. ()
By 2151, Valakis had many satellites in orbit. ()
In 2153, the Azati Prime system featured an extremely sensitive security net, provided by a large array incorporating thousands of satellites. ()
By 2267, the Eminian Union was using tricobalt satellites in the Eminiar-Vendikar War. ()
Sometime before the destruction of the Vaadwaur homeworld in 1484, the Vaadwaur put a sentry satellite in geostationary orbit above one of their cities. ()
A Kohl settlement devastated by solar flares in 2353 was still orbited in 2372 by several then-nonfunctional communications satellites. ()
In 2366, the Romulans claimed to be doing archaeological research on Nelvana III, using a cloaked satellite. ()
A moon located in the Gamma Quadrant was orbited by a network of artificial satellites which attacked starships nearby and protected the imprisoned Ennis and Nol-Ennis. ()
By 2373, Taresia was defended by a high-density polaron grid generated by a network of satellites. ()
By 2376, the orbit of the Qomar homeworld was so filled with spaceships and satellites that entering it felt like navigating an obstacle course. ()
== List of artificial satellites ==
;Named
*SATCOM 47
*Sputnik I
*Vaadwaur sentry satellite
;By type
*Communication and navigation
**Navigational control satellite
**Federation communications satellite 
**Relay satellite 
**Magnetic communication satellite
*Defense/offense
**Attack satellite
**Defense satellite
**Tricobalt satellite
*Surveillance and research
**Monitor beacon satellite 
**Security satellite (recon satellite)
**Surveillance satellite (sentry satellite)
***Spy satellite
**Weather satellite
*Utility
**space module
**Ultraviolet satellite
==Appendices==
===See also===
*Midos V Satellite City Spaceport
*Satellite control
*Satellite dish
*Satellite grid
*Satellite log
*Satellite surveillance
===Background information===
Satellites seem so common in the Star Trek universe that their absence was an indicator that the planet did not harbor a warp-capable civilization (for example, in , , or ), or that a planet was only a minor outpost (for example in ).
===External link===
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Category:Sensor technology
Category:Communications technology
Category:Spacecraft classifications