It is located on the local barrier island directly south of Patrick Space Force Base.

With both ocean and river frontage, the city is the largest beachside community in South Brevard County.

A study commissioned by NASA[8] lends credence to the perception that Satellite Beach is located in a portion of the North American Atlantic shoreline with a reduced incidence of catastrophic hurricanes.

Endangered green sea turtles also deposit nests along the city's ocean beach each year.

The 12 acres (4.9 ha) of wetland created as mitigation by a local developer on Samsons Island provide nutrient-rich, sheltered aquatic habitat serving as finfish nursery and feeding ground for a diverse assemblage of birds and mammals.

The city has erected five osprey nesting platforms on Samsons Island Nature Park, from which young have been fledged.

The city is working with faculty of the Florida Institute of Technology to promote graduate student research and class projects on Samsons Island Nature Park and to assist in devising and implementing maintenance programs to preserve and enhance desirable wildlife habitats.

[13] The city has approved the use of inland dirt-officially called upland sources-to be used in beach nourishment projects.

[15] Due to the moderating influence of surrounding water bodies, the climate on the barrier island supports tropical species of plants normally found far to the south.

Brevard County's barrier island to, approximately, Cape Canaveral, constitutes the northernmost limit of the range of many of these plant species.

At the same time, the infrequency and mildness of freezes in the Central Florida region serves to define the southern limit of many plants found in temperate zones.

[13][9] Vegetated sand dunes are found along most of the beach's length and provide the major defense against storm events.

Native plant species found on the dunes include sea oats, Sabal palmetto, sea grape, railroad vine, dollar weed, coral bean, Spanish bayonet, wax myrtle, yaupon holly, and several grass species.

[13] There are approximately 10 acres (4.0 ha) of coquina rock outcrops frequently exposed along the low-tide line of the city's ocean beach.

The National Marine Fisheries Service has classified the rock as an Essential Fish Habitat-Habitat Area of Particular Concern.

On the city's ocean beach can be found fossil Atlantic ghost crabs, the remnants of a unique set of geological circumstances which preserved these creatures when they died in their burrows perhaps about 110,000 years ago.

[19] In 2013, the city announced that it would undertake $36 million worth of work to restore beach areas and dunes along the coast, battered by hurricanes in 2004.

[20][21] As of 2013, the only traditional Jewish synagogue, Chabad of the Space & Treasure Coasts, along the Brevard County coastline is in the city.

[23] There were one hundred Menorah-topped vehicles, a Menorah lighting, free food (including traditional Latkes), and live entertainment.

[27][28] As of 2013, Banana River Sail and Power Squadron sponsors the annual Holiday Boat Parade.

[29][30] On December 20, 2013, the city announced plans to build a beachside trail that would allow people to walk, jog and cycle along the coast.

[31][32] In the summer of 2018, Erin Brockovich hosted a town hall to address citizens concerns that ground contamination from an old military dump was causing increased rates of cancer.

[37] While no direct link between the cancer cases and contamination had been established as of January 2020, officials and activists were still working on the issue.

[42] In 2020, the ancestries with the highest percentages (excluding Latino groups) was 15.4% Irish, 14.2% Italian, 10.5% German, 9.5% English, 4.0% Polish, 2.4% French, 1.7% Scottish, 1.5% Norwegian, and 0.4% Sub-Saharan African.

[citation needed] The 15 acres (6.1 ha) park contains the natural dune system and has a boardwalk along the coastline.

[59] During the 1960s, Brevard county's population soared due to the Aerospace program and the demands on libraries increased, resulting in the need for more branches.

A secondary major route, paralleling it, is South Patrick Drive, which is close to the Banana River.

[63]” While proponents of beach renourishment defend the action as a way to preserve the natural coastline, prevent coastal armoring of properties, and protect natural sea turtle nesting habitat; some residents who oppose it say it's wasteful and ruins the quality of the beach.