Page 6 - Curriculum Visions Dynamic Book
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Design
There are some design features common to all objects sent into orbit. Although they may all look very different, they have to be designed to be as light as possible due to the very high cost of the fuel needed to put them into orbit. As a result, they are made from light materials such as aluminum rather than from heavier materials such as steel.
They also have to be immensely reliable because they cannot be mended easily, as can a machine on the Earth’s surface. As
a result, when space programs were being developed, a whole new level of reliability in manufacture was put in place (one that was to benefit industry as a whole in due course). This meant redesigning virtually all the electronics, for example.
You may think that there is nothing in space. However, that is far from the truth. In fact, space is a far more hostile environment than the surface of the Earth. We rely heavily on our AtmospHere for protection, although we are largely unaware of this.
Solar panels provide the power supply
for most satellites, including space stations.
Communication between orbiting satellites and ground stations is usually by dish antennae.
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