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The geosynchronous orbit was popularised by the science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke, and is thus sometimes called the Clarke Orbit. In 1929, Herman Potočnik described both geosynchronous orbits in general and the special case of the geostationary Earth orbit in particular as useful orbits for space stations. [2]
Satellites in geostationary orbit. A geosynchronous satellite is a satellite in geosynchronous orbit, with an orbital period the same as the Earth's rotation period.Such a satellite returns to the same position in the sky after each sidereal day, and over the course of a day traces out a path in the sky that is typically some form of analemma.
A geostationary orbit, also referred to as a geosynchronous equatorial orbit [a] (GEO), is a circular geosynchronous orbit 35,786 km (22,236 mi) in altitude above Earth's equator, 42,164 km (26,199 mi) in radius from Earth's center, and following the direction of Earth's rotation.
Geostationary and geosynchronous orbits are very desirable for many communication and Earth observation satellites. However, the delta-v, and therefore financial, cost to send a spacecraft to such orbits is very high due to their high orbital radius. A GTO is an intermediary orbit used to make this process more efficient.
"All geostationary orbits must be geosynchronous, but not all geosynchronous orbits are geostationary." [ 8 ] Tundra orbit : A synchronous but highly elliptic orbit with significant inclination (typically close to 63.4°) and orbital period of one sidereal day (23 hours, 56 minutes for the Earth).
A satellite in a geostationary orbit appears stationary, always at the same point in the sky, to ground observers. Popularly or loosely, the term "geosynchronous" may be used to mean geostationary. [1] Specifically, geosynchronous Earth orbit (GEO) may be a synonym for geosynchronous equatorial orbit, [2] or geostationary Earth orbit. [3]
A highly elliptical orbit (HEO) is an elliptic orbit with high eccentricity, usually referring to one around Earth. Examples of inclined HEO orbits include Molniya orbits , named after the Molniya Soviet communication satellites which used them, and Tundra orbits .
Clickable image, highlighting medium altitude orbits around Earth, [a] from Low Earth to the lowest High Earth orbit (geostationary orbit and its graveyard orbit, at one ninth of the Moon's orbital distance), [b] with the Van Allen radiation belts and the Earth to scale To-scale diagram of low, medium, and high Earth orbits Space of Medium Earth orbits (MEO) as pink area, with Earth and the ...