A communication satellite receives radio signals from earth stations, amplifies them, and redirects them back to earth. It acts as a radio relay in space, allowing signals to be transmitted over greater distances than would be possible with terrestrial communication methods alone. A satellite's transponder receives uplink signals, amplifies them using a low-noise amplifier, down converts the frequency, filters it, amplifies it again using a power amplifier, and retransmits it back to earth on the downlink frequency. This allows the satellite to receive and redirect communications between various earth stations.