non-geosynchronous satellites used for communications and other purposes.

An area that satellites travel in that is about 200-500 miles (320-800 kilometers) above Earth. Satellites traveling in Low Earth Orbit have to travel very fast so that gravity does not pull them back out into the atmosphere.

Orbits between approximately 60 and 450 miles above the earth's surface. Often used for imaging and weather satellites. [Return

see LEO.

A satellite that orbits 400 to 1,600 miles (644 to 2,575 kilometers) above the earth's surface. 48 to 66 LEOs are needed to cover the entire earth.

a stepping-stone to travel beyond orbit but it is also very useful for communication satellite s because of its proximity to Earth

a steppin'-storne ta travel beyon orbit but it is also vurry useful fo' communicashun satellites because of its proximity ta Earth

Satellites in an orbit 100 to 1,000 miles above the earth. LEO Satellites are used mainly for communications, spying and remote sensing. The smallest LEOs are used mostly for data communication. Big LEOs carry the world-wide mobile phone network. Broadband LEOs offer high-speed, high-bandwidth data communications such as videoconferencing.

An altitude below geostationary orbit. Satellites in low earth orbit appear to be moving relative to the earth. These types of satellite became more useful in the 1980s when a technique was devised to pass the data from a satellite about to go beyond the horizon of a ground-based receiving station, to one that was just coming above the opposite horizon.

A circular orbit around Earth between the atmosphere and the Van Allen radiation belt, with a low angle of inclination. These boundaries are not firmly defined, but are typically around 350-1400 km above the Earth's surface, with inclination angles less than 60 degrees from the equator. This is generally below intermediate circular orbit (ICO) and far below geostationary orbit. Orbits lower than this are not stable, and will decay rapidly because of atmospheric drag. Orbits higher than this are subject to early electronic failure because of intense radiation and charge accumulation.

Any orbit around the earth substantially below the geostationary satellite orbit, generally below the geostationary satellite orbit, generally within several hundred km above the earth's surface and usually inclied to the equatorial plane.

Satellites in low Earth orbit travel about 17,500 miles per hour, about a thousand kilometers above the Earth's surface. They can circle the Earth in about an hour and a half.

A satellite is in low Earth orbit (LEO) when it orbits near the top of the Earth's atmosphere, about 100-200 miles (160-320 km) up. These satellites orbit the Earth in about 90 minutes.

A term used to describe the orbital altitude range (500 to 2000 km above the surface of the Earth) of certain communications satellites.

A low Earth orbit (LEO) is generally defined as an orbit within the locus extending from the Earth’s surface up to an altitude of 2,000 km. Given the rapid orbital decay of objects below approximately 200 km, the commonly accepted definition for LEO is between 200 - 2000 km (124 - 1240 miles) above the Earth's surface. Objects in LEO encounter atmospheric drag in the form of gases in the thermosphere (approximately 80-500 km up) or exosphere (approximately 500 km and up), depending on orbit height.