Returning family rams a satellite (7)
I believe the answer is:
sputnik
'a satellite' is the definition.
(I know that Sputnik is a type of satellite)
'returning family rams' is the wordplay.
'returning' says the letters should be written in reverse.
'family' becomes 'kin' (synonyms).
'rams' becomes 'tups' ('tup' can be a synonym of 'ram').
'kin'+'tups'='kintups'
'kintups' backwards is 'SPUTNIK'.
(Other definitions for sputnik that I've seen before include "used to encircle the globe" , "UK pints (anag)" , "First artificial earth satellite" , "space traveller" , "Soviet space orbiter" .)