Answer: When you think of a satellite, you might think about the structure that beams down signals from space to help you get all the TV channels you want. Satellites are launched into orbit over Earth, and held in place by the earth's gravity. So, how can a nation be like a satellite? When we talk about a satellite nation, we are talking about a nation that is aligned with and under the influence of another nation. It is caught in the orbit of the other country, just like a satellite is caught in the orbit of a planet.
The term satellite nation was first used to describe certain nations in the Cold War. These were nations that were aligned with, but also under the influence and pressure of, the Soviet Union. The satellite nations of the Cold War were Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and East Germany. Countries in the West (like the U.S.) began using the term 'satellite nation' to describe these countries, because they were held in the orbit by the gravitational pull of the Soviet Union.
