What is the meaning of Satellite? Concept, Definition of Satellite

Definition, Concept and Meaning: Satellite

The satellite word derives from the latin satelles, and is defined as a celestial object which revolves in the orbit of any planetary body. Satellites can be classified in natural or artificial.
Artificial satellites are those that were built and placed into orbit by human activities, and today there are thousands orbiting the planet, with a large number of other purposes.
The first satellite launched into space was Sputnik I, which was developed by the Soviet Union in the 1950s as part of the efforts to take advantage in the technological world to United States. Subsequently, the launch of Sputnik I would be just the beginning of the space race that two superpowers contended throughout the second half of the 20th century.
Day today by Earth orbit satellites from more than 50 countries, which function as communication, navigation, weather, research and espionage devices. Some are simple satellite and others, such as the international space station, had to be armed in the space once positions in orbit because of its complexity and size. Many others have fallen into disuse and are still orbiting the Earth without purpose or function.
For its part, the natural satellites (or moons) are objects created naturally and that orbit a planet, which almost always is called primary object. While on Earth, we only have a moon, other planets like Saturn have up to 9 orbiting at the same time. When the natural satellite of a planet has a mass similar to its parent object, then known as binary systems.
Aside from astronomy, in the world of politics the satellite term also used to refer to those Nations that depend on or policy are dominated or economically by another country, as in the sentence "during the cold war, Cuba was the only satellite of the USSR in Latin America".