Satellite TV: beaming pictures from the stars

This summer the World Cup will be watched live on TV the world over, and it is all thanks to satellites thousands of kilometres above the earth.

Each goal, each foul, the joy and the pain will be relayed from the pitch to the living room within an instant, by bouncing the TV signal off an electronic platform floating high above the equator.

But how exactly does it work, how are the satellites managed from the ground and what risks do they face in orbit?