Imagine not being able to see STAR Plus or MTV - wouldn't life be a drag? Or perhaps not being able to listen to the weather reports? How would we be able to predict earthquakes and cyclones? We truly do have to thank the satellite for making life so much easier and safer. There is no limit to what satellites can do these days - from weather reports to locating mineral deposits to navigating ships and aeroplanes, to calling our cousins in America to allowing us to see 'live' TV programmes, satellites are an ingenious piece of technology!

There are numerous satellites moving around the Earth right this moment, serving different needs of different countries. They are propelled into space via rockets and put on an 'orbit'. An orbit is a path that a satellite will take around the Earth, depending on its job.

There are different types of orbits around the Earth of varying sizes and each one is used for a particular objective, such as:

• The Eccentric orbit holds a satellite that measures the Earth's magnetic and electric fields. This orbit is conducive for this purpose, since the satellite can obtain measurements at different distances from Earth.

• The Low Earth orbit is said to be the easiest to reach and is where the Russian space station and Hubble Space Telescope both orbit.

• The Polar orbit is, as its name suggests, concentrated around the Earth's poles. Weather satellites are placed here as readings of the entire Earth can be taken while the planet spins.

• The Geostationary orbit is about 35, 880 km above the Equator and holds communication satellites, especially television satellites. Both the Earth and the satellites complete their respective circles at the same time, meaning they move neck-to-neck.