A slang term for the act of sending a signal up to a communications satellite. It looks like it started appearing on Usenet and in jargon lists around late 1996. Around that time, satellite technology was particularly sexy, especially with the impending launch of Motorola's Iridium satellite phone network. Since Iridium and other satellite ventures never truly caught on, satellite-related jargon is seriously dated, with the exception of any terms involved in stealing service from satellite television providers like DirecTV.