- You may be looking for moons, which are known as natural satellites.
A satellite was an artificial device put into orbit above a planet or moon. They would usually be used as means of relaying subspace communications and information networks or for purposes of surveillance.
Examples[]
Weather satellites were used to predict storms. (Adventures RPG module: The Sciences Division) Satellites implemented weather control networks on worlds such as Andoria. (Last Unicorn RPG module: The Price of Freedom)
Earth's first satellite, Sputnik 1, was launched by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957. It orbited the planet once every 96 minutes and remained aloft for three months. The United States followed up with its first satellite, Explorer 1, on 31 January 1958. (TOS novel: Mission to Horatius, ST reference: Spaceflight Chronology)
In 1992, Khan Noonien Singh used Flint's research to develop the Morning Star satellite, a weapon of mass destruction capable of manipulating Earth's ozone layer. When Khan left Earth aboard the SS Botany Bay in 1994, he lowered the satellite's defences so Seven could destroy it. (TOS novel: The Rise and Fall of Khan Noonien Singh, Volume 2)
The Federation starship USS Voyager had to keep itself hidden from Earth's satellites during its temporal incursion to 1996. (VOY episode: "Future's End")
In 2020, Shaun Christopher considered how difficult it was to put a satellite into an orbit directly above a pole when the alien probe, C/2018-G2, assumed position directly above Saturn's north pole. (TOS novel: The Rings of Time)
Incidents[]
In 2267, 210 satellites with ignited trimagnesite flares were deployed by the USS Enterprise to erradicate the blastoneuron infestation on Deneva. (Decipher RPG module: Worlds, TOS episode & Star Trek 2 novelization: Operation -- Annihilate!)
In the late 2270s, the USS Strider intercepted a transmission from a Klingon communications booster satellite within the Federation-Klingon Neutral Zone, but when they scanned it, the relay self destructed. (FASA RPG module: The Strider Incident)
In 2371, Dr. Tara Jenner investigated a series of Breadcrumb satellites launched from Zachriel. (Adventures RPG module: These are the Voyages: Mission Compendium Vol. 1 mission: "A Plague of Arias")
Appendices[]
External links[]
- Satellite article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.
- Satellite article at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.