Geostationary orbit11/14/2022 So, the satellites moving in the geostationary orbit circle the complete earth in around 23 hours 56 minutes, and 4 seconds. The first discussed condition is the base of this orbital system due to the fact that in order to appear stationary with respect to the earth, it is necessary that the satellite must travel with the rotational speed of the earth. Let us now understand each condition separately: The orbit must possess zero inclination.The shape of the orbit must be circular.The satellite must have a rotational speed similar to that of earth, traveling in an eastward direction.There are three requirements of an orbit to be geostationary. However, recently we have seen that satellites can move in three different orbits around the earth. In this content, we will have a detailed idea of geostationary orbit.Īt the beginning itself, we have discussed that a geostationary orbit is the one where the satellite appears to be immobile to the earth-based observer. The inclination corresponds to the rotation angle of the satellite in correspondence with the horizon.Ī major classification of orbits is done as: The radius of the earth corresponds to the distance between the center of the earth and a satellite orbiting in space whereas the altitude denotes the height of separation from satellite to the earth surface. However, this balancing depends on factors like the speed with which the satellite is moving, the gravitational pull and radius of the earth, and the distance from the surface of the earth. We have also discussed that if the satellite rotates in the same direction wrt the rotation of earth then it is known as prograde while if the direction of rotation of the satellite is opposite to the earth then it is called retrograde.īasically, the motion of the satellite in the respective orbit is because of adequate balancing maintained between the centripetal force of the satellite and the force of gravity. In our previous content, satellite orbits we have defined that an orbit is a path around the earth over which the satellite is rotated around the earth. The idea of geostationary orbit was announced by a scientist cum author of British origin named Arthur C. Geostationary orbit is regarded as a special case of geosynchronous orbit which corresponds to an orbit whose orbital period is equivalent to earth’s rotation period.
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