Satellite communications

Satellite communications include a wide range of technologies and applications that principally depend on the use of artificial satellites in Earth orbit. The article is not titled "communications satellite", since many applications involve multiple orbiting vehicles, and also a great deal of equipment on Earth. The definition is sufficiently broad to include communications that use communications relay devices operating within the atmosphere, including unmanned aerial vehicles, lighter-than-air devices carrying electronics, or manned aircraft with a primary communications relay function.