how high do satellites orbit earth?
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Geosynchronous orbits (GEO) – GEO satellites orbit Earth at an altitude greater than 22,223 miles (36,000 kilometers) and their orbital period is the same as Earth's rotational period: 24 hours. Included in this category are geostationary (GSO) satellites, which remain in orbit above a fixed spot on Earth.
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Low earth orbit is just above the atmosphere-165 to about 300 miles. ... Geosynchronous orbits are at the other extreme at around 26,000 miles altitude, on 1/10th the way to the moon. Well above the atmosphere, objects in this orbit circle the globe only once every 24 hours, and so appear stationary above the surface.
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The orbital velocity of the satellite depends on its altitude above Earth. The nearer to Earth, the faster the required orbital velocity. At an altitude of 124 miles (200 kilometers), the required orbital velocity is a little more than 17,000 mph (about 27,400 kph).
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Medium-Earth orbits (MEO) — These satellites park in between the low and high flyers, so from about 1,243 miles (2,000 kilometers) to 22,223 miles (36,000 kilometers). Navigation satellites, like the kind used by your car's GPS, work well at this altitude.
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The eccentricity of the Earth's orbit is currently about 0.0167; the Earth's orbit is nearly circular. Venus and Neptune have even lower eccentricities.
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A satellite maintains its orbit by balancing two factors: its velocity (the speed it takes to travel in a straight line) and the gravitational pull that Earth has on it. A satellite orbiting closer to the Earth requires more velocity to resist the stronger gravitational pull.
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Space junk can be a hazard to active satellites and spacecraft. It has been theorized that Earth orbit could even become impassable if the risk of collision grows too high.
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Satellites communicate by using radio waves to send signals to the antennas on the Earth. The antennas then capture those signals and process the information coming from those signals.
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The main reason they are in such a high orbit is to allow for more of the Earth to be visible at any one time. In order to have a reasonable amount of the Earth visible, you have to be high up.
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Only satellites in actual west to east orbits, which are rare, or satellites in orbits higher than geostationary, which are hard to see, would appear to move east to west in the sky. There are also satellites in inclined orbits, or even polar orbits, which can move in any direction across the sky.
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Because the satellite orbits at the same speed that the Earth is turning, the satellite seems to stay in place over a single longitude, though it may drift north to south. ... Satellites in geostationary orbit rotate with the Earth directly above the equator, continuously staying above the same spot.
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So, How Do Satellites Stay in Orbit? Satellites are able to orbit around the planet because they are locked into speeds that are fast enough to defeat the downward pull of gravity. ... Satellites do carry their own fuel supply, but unlike how a car uses gas, it is not needed to maintain speed for orbit.
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Of the 2,062 active artificial satellites orbiting the Earth as of March 31, 2019, 901 belong to the United States. This is by far the largest number of any single country, with their nearest competitor, China, accounting for only 299. Artificial satellites are human-made objects deliberately placed in orbit.
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The GPS satellites are not in a geostationary orbit, but rise and set two times per day. ... By combining signals transmitted by several satellites and received simultaneously, a GPS receiver can calculate its position on the Earth (i.e., its latitude and longitude) with an accuracy of approximately 10 m.
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During a 24 hour period, how many times does the ISS orbit the Earth? Well, the space station orbits Earth about every 90 minutes, so that means in a 24 hour day, the space station orbits approximately 16 times.
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So for a geostationary orbit in particular a satellite needs to have an altitude of about 22,000 miles and travel at about 2 miles per second. At that altitude and speed a satellite will complete a revolution in about 24 hours, which is what allows the satellite to maintain a geostationary orbit.
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To maintain an orbit that is 22,223 miles (35,786 kilometers) above Earth, the satellite must orbit at a speed of about 7,000 mph (11,300 kph). That orbital speed and distance permit the satellite to make one revolution in 24 hours.