Satelliittiverkostot

Satelliittiverkostot, or satellite networks, are interlinked groups of orbital satellites that operate collaboratively to provide communication, navigation, or remote sensing services. Unlike a single satellite, a network can cover wide geographic areas, increase signal availability, and provide redundancy. Networks may be composed of geostationary, medium‑Earth, or low‑Earth orbit platforms, each chosen for its specific latency, coverage, and bandwidth characteristics.

The most common satellite network applications are broadband connectivity and global positioning. Broadband constellations, such as those deployed by Starlink, OneWeb and Kuiper, use clusters of small spacecraft in low‑Earth orbit to deliver high‑throughput links to ground terminals. Positioning networks rely on precise timing signals transmitted from multiple satellites to allow receivers to triangulate their position with accuracy at the centimetre level.

Commercial satellite networks have grown from a few dedicated geostationary communications hegemons to dense low‑Earth constellation architectures that aim to deliver global coverage at lower foot‑print costs. Government and military networks retain multi‑orbit systems for strategic resilience and secure communication. Emerging technologies, including optical inter‑satellite links, advanced phased array antennas, and on‑board AI processing, promise to further enhance capacity, reduce latency, and lower operational costs. Overall, satelliittiverkostot play an increasingly pivotal role in the global digital infrastructure, providing connectivity especially in remote regions and critical services such as search and rescue, disaster monitoring, and autonomous navigation.