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When the orbit is circular and the rotational period has zero inclination, the orbit is considered to also be geostationary. Also known as a Clarke orbit after the writer Arthur C. Clarke. [8] Geostationary orbit (GEO): A circular geosynchronous orbit with an inclination of zero. To an observer on the ground this satellite appears as a fixed ...
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.
If one could see a satellite in geostationary orbit, it would appear to hover at the same point in the sky, i.e., not exhibit diurnal motion, while the Sun, Moon, and stars would traverse the skies behind it. Such orbits are useful for telecommunications satellites. [22] A perfectly stable geostationary orbit is an ideal that can only be ...
A satellite in a synchronous orbit that is both equatorial and circular will appear to be suspended motionless above a point on the orbited planet's equator. For synchronous satellites orbiting Earth, this is also known as a geostationary orbit. However, a synchronous orbit need not be equatorial; nor circular.
A satellite being propelled into place, into a stationary orbit, is first fired to a special equatorial orbit called a "geostationary transfer orbit" (GTO). [1] Within this oval-shaped ( elliptical ) orbit, the satellite will alternately swing out to 22,300 miles (35,890 km) high and then back down to an altitude of only 100 miles (160 km ...
It passed within 6,000 kilometres (3,200 nmi; 3,700 mi) of the Moon's surface, but did not achieve lunar orbit. [11] Luna 3 , launched on October 4, 1959, was the first robotic spacecraft to complete a circumlunar free return trajectory , still not a lunar orbit, but a figure-8 trajectory which swung around the far side of the Moon and returned ...
GTO is a highly elliptical Earth orbit with an apogee (the point in the orbit of the moon or a satellite at which it is furthest from the earth) of 42,164 km (26,199 mi), [3] or a height of 35,786 km (22,236 mi) above sea level, which corresponds to the geostationary altitude.
The path of the Earth–Moon system in its solar orbit is defined as the movement of this mutual centre of gravity around the Sun. Consequently, Earth's centre veers inside and outside the solar orbital path during each synodic month as the Moon moves in its orbit around the common centre of gravity. [25]