LEO

A low earth orbit is defined as an orbital pattern u to and including 2000km from the
surface of the earth. However, because any orbit of less than about 200km decays far
too quickly, in reality a LEO ranges from about 200km to 2000km. This orbit altitude
is useful as it allows satellites to sit close to the surface of the earth, and most human
space activity occurs in this band as a result. However, bodies in orbit at this height
still experience drag and friction from the atmosphere. Also, there are thousands of
pieces of space debris in orbit at this height, and they pose a threat to anything at this
altitude.

MEO

This is essentially anywhere between the ceiling of the LEO (2000km), and below the
minimum altitude required for a geostationary orbit (36000km). The most common
use for satellites in this region is for navigation, but communication satellites covering
the poles of the earth also orbit in MEO.

GEO

Technically this orbital pattern refers to any body in an orbit where it returns to the
same point over the planet’s surface at the same time every day. However, It is
commonly used to refer to the special case of a geostationary orbit, where the orbiting
body is directly above the equator, and has an eccentricity of 0.

Circular Orbit

As the name suggests, any body that follows a circular orbit has an eccentricity of 0,
and therefore traces a perfect circle around the earth.

Elliptic Orbit

Any orbit that has an eccentricity of greater than 0, but less than 1 (where 0 would be
a perfect circle, and 1 is for all intentions and purposes a straight line).

Inclined orbit

Any orbit that does not follow one of the two planes is said to be inclined. The
inclination is measured in degrees, up to 90o, where it becomes a polar orbit.

Comms

A communications satellite is an ‘artificial satellite stationed in space for the purpose

of telecommunications’. The satellites use microwaves to transmit their information.
They are used for mobile applications such as communications to ships, vehicles,
planes and hand-held terminals, and for TV and radio broadcasting, for which
application of other technologies, such as cable, is impractical or impossible.
Nav

A navigational satellite is an artificial satellite used for the purpose of creating a

global web of coverage of the earth’s surface such that they can pinpoint your location
at any given time. Small electronic receivers determine their location (longitude,
latitude, and altitude) to within metres, and by using time signals transmitted by radio
from the satellites.

Mil

Military satellites cover both anti-satellite weapons, and ‘spy satellites’. Anti-satellite
weapons are space weapons and satellites designed to incapacitate or destroy satellites
for strategic military purposes. Currently, only the United States, Russia and China
are known to have developed these weapons. ‘Spy satellites’ are similar in
composition to the communications satellites, except that they have the potential to
intercept radio waves. There are many speculations as to how powerful military
satellites actually are, but the area is shrouded in secrecy, as is expected.

Research