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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 ...
Groundtrack of Molniya orbit. In the operational part of the orbit (4 hours on each side of apogee), the satellite is north of 55.5° N (latitude of for example central Scotland, Moscow and southern part of Hudson Bay). A satellite in this orbits spends most of its time in the northern hemisphere and passes quickly over the southern hemisphere.
A highly elliptical orbit (HEO) is an elliptic orbit with high eccentricity, usually referring to one around Earth. Examples of inclined HEO orbits include Molniya orbits , named after the Molniya Soviet communication satellites which used them, and Tundra orbits .
The Molniya orbit, with an argument of perigee near −90°, is an example of such a case. In a Molniya orbit, apogee occurs at a high latitude (63°), and the orbit is highly eccentric ( e = 0.72). This causes the satellite to "hover" over a region of the northern hemisphere for a long time, while spending very little time over the southern ...
For Earth this means a period of just under 12 hours at an altitude of approximately 20,200 km (12,544.2 miles) if the orbit is circular. [16] Molniya orbit: A semi-synchronous variation of a Tundra orbit. For Earth this means an orbital period of just under 12 hours. Such a satellite spends most of its time over two designated areas of the ...
Molniya (Russian for lightning) may refer to: Molniya (satellite), a Soviet military communications satellite Molniya orbit; Molniya (explosive trap), a KGB explosive device; Molniya (rocket), a variation of the Soyuz launch vehicle; OKB-4 Molniya, an experimental design bureau responsible for the Molniya R-60 and Vympel R-73 air-to-air missiles
Meridian (Russian: Меридиан) is a family of telecommunications satellites for civil and military use developed by Russia in the 2000s, placed in a Molniya Orbit, and intended to replace the two last series of Molniya satellites still in activity, as well as the old Parus satellites. The first launch took place on 24 December 2006 ...
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.