communications satellite
5
3.9
- noun
- /kəˌmjunɪˈkeɪʃənz ˈsætəˌlaɪt/
- Specialized
:
satélite de comunicaciones
- The disc will be placed on board the communications satellite EchoStar XVI and launched into orbit next month.
- the first communications satellite
So the government's line is that the launch of these missiles, which they still maintain is for peaceful communication satellites.
- So the government's line is that the launch of these missiles, which they still maintain is for peaceful communication satellites.
Examples
-
They've just hooked into a communications satellite, and as we speak, our transmissions are broadcast all over the world.
-
Messages transmitted through terrestrial microwave and communications satellites can be intercepted without actually touching the transmission link.
Academic text (1990) -
Does that look like a communications satellite to you?
-
It's a Russian communications satellite.
-
Your television stations, your wire services, even your communication satellites.
-
New competitors, for example, own many of the new generation of international communications satellites.
Academic text (1994) -
Space age technology led to communication satellites, mobile phones, the Internet, and a revolution in the computer industry.
Academic text (2003) -
Arthur Clarke foresaw a geo-stationary communications satellite in 1945.
Academic text (2004) -
There are still a lot of beaming faces at NASA headquarters in Houston today over Wednesday's successful launch of the two new communications satellites.
-
Companies and governments are busy sending more and more communications satellites into orbit.
How High
- Specialized
11
4.2
- Specialized
5
3.9
- Specialized
608
3.5
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'communications' names the function (transmission of information) and 'satellite' is an artificial spacecraft, so together they denote a satellite used for communications. This straightforward attributive noun pattern is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
The noun communications satellite gives a clear picture: a satellite high in space that helps with communications by catching signals from one place and sending them to another. So, it means 'an object in space that catches and sends phone, TV, or internet signals'.