Medium Earth orbit in the context of "Low Earth orbit"

⭐ In the context of Low Earth Orbit, Medium Earth Orbit is considered…

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⭐ Core Definition: Medium Earth orbit

A medium Earth orbit (MEO) is an Earth-centered orbit with an altitude above a low Earth orbit (LEO) and below a high Earth orbit (HEO) – between 2,000 and 35,786 km (1,243 and 22,236 mi) above sea level.

The boundary between MEO and LEO is an arbitrary altitude chosen by accepted convention, whereas the boundary between MEO and HEO is the particular altitude of a geosynchronous orbit, in which a satellite takes 24 hours to circle the Earth, the same period as the Earth’s own rotation. All satellites in MEO have an orbital period of less than 24 hours, with the minimum period (for a circular orbit at the lowest MEO altitude) about 2 hours.

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👉 Medium Earth orbit in the context of Low Earth orbit

A low Earth orbit (LEO) is an orbit around Earth with a period of 128 minutes or less (making at least 11.25 orbits per day) and an eccentricity less than 0.25. Most of the artificial objects in outer space are in LEO, peaking in number at an altitude around 800 km (500 mi), while the farthest in LEO, before medium Earth orbit (MEO), have an altitude of 2,000 kilometers, about one-third of the radius of Earth and near the beginning of the inner Van Allen radiation belt.

The term LEO region is used for the area of space below an altitude of 2,000 km (1,200 mi) (about one-third of Earth's radius). Objects in orbits that pass through this zone, even if they have an apogee further out or are sub-orbital, are carefully tracked since they present a collision risk to the many LEO satellites.

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Medium Earth orbit in the context of High Earth orbit

A high Earth orbit is a geocentric orbit with an apogee farther than that of the geosynchronous orbit, which is 35,786 km (22,236 mi) away from Earth.In this article, the non-standard abbreviation of HEO is used for high Earth orbit.

The development of HEO technology has had a significant impact on space exploration and has paved the way for future missions to deep space. The ability to place satellites in HEO has allowed scientists to make groundbreaking discoveries in astronomy and Earth science, while also enabling global communication and navigation systems.

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LINKED FROM (PARENTS)
← Low Earth orbit ← High Earth orbit
LINKS TO (CHILDREN)
Medium Earth Orbit → Low Earth orbit → High Earth orbit → Geostationary Earth orbit → Graveyard orbit → Lunar distance → Van Allen radiation belt → Earth → Geocentric orbit → Geosynchronous orbit → Orbital period →