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A satellite's orbit works because of a balance between two forces. The orbit is a combination of the satellite's velocity - the speed it is travelling in a straight line - and the force of the Earth's gravitational pull on the satellite. These forces are similar to the forces that keep all the planets in their places in the solar system. That gravitational pull is the result of the mass or weight of the Earth and the mass of the satellite. Basically, gravity keeps the satellite's velocity from sending the satellite flying out in a straight line away from the Earth, and the satellite's velocity keeps the force of gravity from pulling the satellite back to Earth. To illustrate this concept, think of a yo-yo. There is a long string that holds the weight of the yo-yo ball at the end. The yo-yo ball is the satellite, and your hand holding the end of the string is the Earth (not to scale of course). If you swung that yo-yo in a circle, then the string would act as the gravity. Without the string, the yo-yo ball would fly off into space, but without the weight and forward motion of the yo-yo ball, the string would flop towards the ground.