What altitude do satellites orbit the Earth?

between 160 and 2,000 kilometers
The majority of satellites orbiting the Earth do so at altitudes between 160 and 2,000 kilometers. This orbital regime is called low Earth orbit, or LEO, due to the satellites’ relative closeness to the Earth. Satellites in LEO typically take between 90 minutes and 2 hours to complete one full orbit around the Earth.

Which factor decides the orbit of a satellite?

The factors are : the mass of the Earth, the mass of the satellite, and the distance between the center of the Earth and the center of the satellite. Also, the gravitational constant, which is involved in a set of equations that relate these factors to the orbital speed of the satellite.

How do you measure the altitude of a satellite?

To find altitude, subtract the radius of Mars from this number. Remember to always use the distance from the core of the planet in these calculations! The satellite in Mars geostationary orbit must be stationed 17005 Kilometers above the surface of the planet and it must be travelling at a speed of 1446 m/s .

Where are the satellites in orbit?

Approximately 63\% of operational satellites are in low Earth orbit, 6\% are in medium-Earth orbit (at 20,000 km), 29\% are in geostationary orbit (at 36,000 km) and the remaining 2\% are in various elliptical orbits.

What distance do satellites orbit the Earth?

Communication satellites orbit at around 35,786 kilometers(22,236 miles). Many of them are in LEO, between 300 and 900 miles. A lot of them are in geostationary orbit, and those satellites are 22,000 miles out.

How does a satellite orbit the Earth?

A satellite orbits Earth when its speed is balanced by the pull of Earth’s gravity. Without this balance, the satellite would fly in a straight line off into space or fall back to Earth. Polar-orbiting satellites travel in a north-south direction from pole to pole.

In what factor does the orbital velocity of an Earth satellite depend?

altitude
The orbital velocity of the satellite depends on its altitude above Earth. The nearer to Earth, the faster the required orbital velocity. At an altitude of 124 miles (200 kilometers), the required orbital velocity is a little more than 17,000 mph (about 27,400 kph).

On which factors orbital speed of satellite depends?

The orbital speed of the satellite depends on its altitude above the Earth. To maintain an orbit that is 35,786 km above the Earth, a satellite must orbit at the speed of about 11,300 km per hour. That orbital speed and distance permit the satellite to make one revolution in exactly 24 hours.

What is meant by satellite altitude?

The altitude of a satellite is the distance between the Earth’s surface and the satellite, but the Earth itself is not spherical. At the equator the Earth’s radius is 21 km more than at the poles, and in fact the shape of the Earth is not even a perfect oblate spheroid.

Where are Earth’s satellites?

Satellites can orbit Earth’s equator or go over Earth’s North and South Poles . . . or anything in between. They orbit at a low altitude of just a few hundred miles above Earth’s surface or thousands of miles out in space.

What direction do satellites orbit the Earth?

Passing by. We can actually see satellites passing overhead before dawn and after dusk, as they reflect sunlight down towards us. Some satellites follow the rotation of the Earth and move from west to east. Others have orbits taking them over the poles, and travel north to south or south to north.

How do satellites adjust their orbit?

NASA’s low Earth orbit satellites adjust their inclination every year or two to maintain a Sun-synchronous orbit. Satellites in a low Earth orbit are also pulled out of their orbit by drag from the atmosphere. Earth’s gravity then causes the satellites to speed up.