An artificial satellite was a man-made form of technology that was put in orbit around a planet. (VOY: "Future's End, Part II") They had countless applications, including defense, weather forecast, surveillance, and communication, and were used by many cultures.
History[]
Earth[]
Earth launched its first artificial satellite, Sputnik, in 1957. This milestone was monitored by a Vulcan team. (ENT: "Carbon Creek")
By 1968, weather satellites were used. (TOS: "Assignment: Earth")
By the late 20th century, the cryonics fad had resulted in space modules being put into Earth's orbit. (TNG: "The Neutral Zone")
According to Tom Paris, by 1996 Earth had surveillance satellites in orbit. Satellite dishes were in use for communication with satellites. (VOY: "Future's End")
In 2024, news services used satellite images to assess what was happening in Sanctuary District A during the Bell Riots. The images showed a number of potential casualties. (DS9: "Past Tense, Part II")
By 2154, Starfleet Operations operated a grid of satellites in Earth orbit, capable of picking up any transporter activity on the planet. (ENT: "Affliction")
Vulcan[]
In 2097, the Vulcan High Command put a surveillance satellite in orbit of Weytahn to monitor potential violations of the Treaty of 2097. (ENT: "Cease Fire")
By 2154, Vulcan had a network of security satellites in orbit, providing satellite surveillance. (ENT: "Awakening")
United Federation of Planets[]
By the second half of the 24th century, Earth relied on a network of satellites for communications. (DS9: "Past Tense, Part I") Navigational control satellites were also in use, one of which was in orbit of Saturn. (TNG: "The First Duty")
By 2370, the Prytt Alliance became concerned that the Federation was helping the Kes to develop attack satellites, and claimed to have developed countermeasures. (TNG: "Attached")
By 2372, the Federation had deployed a relay satellite on the Gamma Quadrant side of the Bajoran wormhole. (DS9: "Paradise Lost")
Other species[]
Lazarus claimed to have survived the destruction of his civilization by being occupied with inspecting magnetic communications satellites when the destruction occurred. (TOS: "The Alternative Factor")
A Xindi-Arboreal colony visited by Enterprise in 2153 had no artificial satellites. (ENT: "The Shipment")
Satellites were used to generate the dispersion field protecting parts of the Torothan homeworld from orbital scans. (ENT: "Desert Crossing")
By 2151, Valakis had many satellites in orbit. (ENT: "Dear Doctor")
In 2153, the Azati Prime system featured a extremely sensitive security net, provided by a large array incorporating thousand of satellites. (ENT: "Azati Prime")
By 2267, the Eminian Union was using tricobalt satellites in the Eminiar-Vendikar War. (TOS: "A Taste of Armageddon")
Sometime before the destruction of the Vaadwaur homeworld in 1484, the Vaadwaur put a sentry satellite in geostationary orbit above one of their cities. (VOY: "Dragon's Teeth")
A Kohl settlement devastated by solar flares in 2353 was still orbited in 2372 by several by then-nonfunctional communications satellites. (VOY: "The Thaw")
In 2366, the Romulans claimed to be doing archaeological research on Nelvana III, using a cloaked satellite. (TNG: "The Defector")
A moon located in the Gamma Quadrant was orbited by a network of artificial satellites which attacked starships nearby and protected the imprisoned Ennis and Nol-Ennis. (DS9: "Battle Lines")
By 2373, Taresia was defended by a high-density polaron grid generated by a network of satellites. (VOY: "Favorite Son")
By 2376, the orbit of the Qomar homeworld was so filled with spaceships and satellites that entering it felt like navigating an obstacle course. (VOY: "Virtuoso")
List of artificial satellites[]
- Named
- By type
- Communication and navigation
- Defense/offense
- Attack satellite
- Defense satellite
- Tricobalt satellite
- Surveillance and research
- Monitor beacon satellite
- Security satellite (recon satellite)
- Surveillance satellite (sentry satellite)
- Weather satellite
- Utility
Appendices[]
See also[]
- Midos V Satellite City Spaceport
- Satellite control
- Satellite dish
- Satellite grid
- Satellite log
- Satellite surveillance
Background information[]
Satellites seem so common in the Star Trek universe that their absence was an indicator that the planet did not harbor a warp-capable civilization (for example, in "Strange New World", "Civilization", or "Time and Again"), or alternatively that a planet was only a minor outpost (for example in "The Shipment").