What are satellites?

A satellite is like a toy that keeps orbiting around something bigger, just like you spin a ball on a string.

Imagine you're holding a ball on a string and you swing it around, the ball goes in a circle because of the string pulling it. A satellite is like that ball, but instead of being held by a string, it's pulled by gravity from something big, like Earth or another planet.

When a satellite is launched into space, it moves really fast, so fast that it keeps going around the Earth without falling down. It’s kind of like when you run really fast around a pole and don’t stop, you keep circling it!

Some satellites are used to take pictures of Earth from up high, or to help phones send messages across the world. They're like helpers in the sky that do special jobs for us.

You might have seen one if you’ve ever watched the night sky, sometimes you can see a bright dot moving slowly across the stars. That’s a satellite doing its job!