DELORES YOUNG: Hello, my name is Delores Young, and I'm from Atlanta, Georgia. And my question is, how do they keep all the satellites in space without colliding with one another?</s>MILES O'BRIEN, CNN SPACE CORRESPONDENT: Well, let's talk, first of all, about communications satellites. Way back when, when communications satellites first started flying, of course there wasn't an issue of things bumping into each other. But it wasn't long before all these satellites ended up parked in orbits relatively close to each other. What happened was, the nations of the world, led by the United States, formed the first satellite consortium called Intelsat. And it, basically, created a non-profit organization to operate these communications satellites and also allocate where they can exist on the horizon. Now we've gotten to the point where there are so many communications satellites up there that space is at a premium. And as a matter of fact, in order for new satellites to be launched, typically speaking, an old one has to be taken out of service. So this is a bit of a problem, except when you consider the fact that other technologies, for instance fiberoptic cable, are making the need for those communications satellites diminished. So while space may be at a premium way up there, 22,300 miles above us, it may not be a problem.
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