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Syncom 2 was the first communications satellite in a geosynchronous orbit. It revolved around the Earth once per day at constant speed, but because it still had north–south motion, special equipment was needed to track it. [19] Its successor, Syncom 3, launched on 19 July 1964, was the first geostationary communications satellite. Syncom 3 ...
A Molniya orbit (Russian: Молния, IPA: [ˈmolnʲɪjə] ⓘ, "Lightning") is a type of satellite orbit designed to provide communications and remote sensing coverage over high latitudes. It is a highly elliptical orbit with an inclination of 63.4 degrees , an argument of perigee of 270 degrees, and an orbital period of approximately half a ...
Tundra and Molniya orbits are used to provide high-latitude users with higher elevation angles than a geostationary orbit.This is desirable as broadcasting to these latitudes from a geostationary orbit (above the Earth's equator) requires considerable power due to the low elevation angles, and the extra distance and atmospheric attenuation that comes with it.
For a satellite orbiting the Earth directly above the Equator, the plane of the satellite's orbit is the same as the Earth's equatorial plane, and the satellite's orbital inclination is 0°. The general case for a circular orbit is that it is tilted, spending half an orbit over the northern hemisphere and half over the southern.
The European Space Agency telecom satellite Olympus-1 was struck by a meteoroid on August 11, 1993, and eventually moved to a graveyard orbit, [60] and in 2006 the Russian Express-AM11 communications satellite was struck by an unknown object and rendered inoperable, [61] although its engineers had enough contact time with the satellite to send ...
The value of a solar beta angle for a satellite in Earth orbit can be found using the equation = [ + ()] where is the ecliptic true solar longitude, is the right ascension of ascending node (RAAN), is the orbit's inclination, and is the obliquity of the ecliptic (approximately 23.45 degrees for Earth at present).
This makes these elliptical orbits useful for communications satellites. Geostationary orbits cannot serve polar latitudes because their elevation above the horizon from these ground sites is too low. [1] The latitude limit for a GEO sat is 81 degrees with a practical limit of just above 75 degrees. [2]
A medium-altitude satellite, Telstar was placed into an elliptical orbit completed once every 2 hours and 37 minutes, inclined at an angle of approximately 45 degrees to the equator, with perigee about 952 km (592 mi) from Earth and apogee about 5,933 km (3,687 mi) from Earth [7]: 3-5 This is in contrast to the 1965 Early Bird Intelsat and ...