Welcome to the space page. This page has been created with a view towards presenting a consolidated view of what is happening in today's space programs. This page is intended for the layman and attempts to introduce and if possible , generate interest in him about the space technology as of today.

A typical space program, such as say, launching of a communication satellite begins with first somebody deciding that they need to put a communication ( or any other ) satellite into orbit. Then a slot has to be found out for the new satellite in the space, since we cannot put a satellite anywhere in the space. In case of a communications satellite , it has to be put into a geostationary orbit. There is an international agency (Whose name I forget ) that keeps tab on where to keep the satellite and a slot has to be provided for the positioning of the craft.

Having accomplished that, the next task is to allot( or decide )the frequencies which the satellite will be using. In case of a communications satellite this will be often the C Band, and the Ku Band. Then we will have to decide for how much time satellite will be operational, and what are the exact pay-loads, and what will be the power required. All this has a direct bearing on the design of the satellite.

After having decided the contents, materials, of the satellite, it is actually built and launched into space with the help of a rocket ( More on these later ). A communications satellite will usually be launched into the orbit by a cryogenic rocket or a space shuttle. There are quite a few agencies like Ariane and NASA which have the capability to launch such rockets. India is still one or two years away from launching their first cryogenic rocket.

So this is the overview on how a satellite is launched. For more on satellites click the link on the left. Ditto for rockets.

For deciding on how much on-board fuel is carried aboard the satellite and the control systems of the satellite, we have to take into account the various disturbances that can act upon the satellite. This has been segregated into a different branch of physics and named celestial mechanics. I deal with these in a non mathematical manner.