How many man-made satellites are currently orbiting the Earth?

First, we better look at what a satellite is. The Webster dictionary says that a satellite is a vehicle people have made and put into orbit around Earth. One example of a satellite is a weather satellite that collects information so we can make weather forecasts. Another example is a communications satellite. This type of satellite makes it possible for you to have cable television at home.

Right now there are 2,271 satellites in orbit around the Earth. Russia has the most satellites in orbit (1,324 satellites), followed by the U.S. with 658 satellites.

How many man-made satellites are currently orbiting the Earth?

Well, that depends on how you define satellite! One definition of the word satellite is a body that orbits a larger body. If you take this as the definition of satellite then the answer to our question is millions! This includes actual spacecraft, and any man-made debris that has been made during the past 30 years of space exploration.

People call this debris "space junk". "Space junk" orbits at a speed of roughly 7.5 kilometers/second. That is close to 17,000 miles/hour! Think of the damage even a small speck of paint could do to the space shuttle if impact occurred at such high speeds !

Another definition of satellite is a manufactured vehicle intended to orbit the Earth. This definition makes our count much less because it includes only spacecraft and not debris that orbits the Earth. The Goddard Space Flight Center's lists 2,271 sate llites currently in orbit. Russia has the most satellites currently in orbit, with 1,324 satellites, followed by the U.S. with 658.

How many man-made satellites are currently orbiting the Earth?

Well, that depends on how you define satellite! If you take the broad definition of the word satellite, a body that orbits a body of larger size, then the answer is millions! This definition of a satellite includes actual spacecraft, and any man-mad e debris that has been generated by the past 30 years of space exploration.

Our space environment is only getting more and more cluttered. People have called this clutter "space junk". "Space junk" orbits at a speed of roughly 7.5 kilometers/second. That is close to 17,000 miles/hour! Think of the damage even a small speck of paint could do to the space shuttle if impact occurred at such high speeds!

The more narrow definition of satellite, a manufactured vehicle intended to orbit the Earth, lessens the count significantly. This definition includes only spacecraft. The Goddard Space Flight Center's Satellite Situation Report updated on June 11, 1997 lists 2,271 satellites currently in orbit (2,386 more satellites have already fallen into decayed orbits where they disentegrated while falling through the Earth's atmosphere). Russia has the most satellites currently in orbit, with 1,324 satellites, fol lowed by the U.S. with 658.

Last modified prior to September, 2000 by the Windows Team

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