{"id":774085,"date":"2023-11-17T08:11:55","date_gmt":"2023-11-17T13:11:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=774085"},"modified":"2023-11-17T08:11:55","modified_gmt":"2023-11-17T13:11:55","slug":"whats-the-difference-between-leo-meo-and-geo-satellites","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=774085","title":{"rendered":"What&#8217;s the Difference Between LEO, MEO and GEO Satellites?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-9100\" src=\"https:\/\/astroblog.cosmobc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/06\/Earth-Satellites.jpg\" alt=\"Earth Satellites\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/astroblog.cosmobc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/06\/Earth-Satellites.jpg 800w, https:\/\/astroblog.cosmobc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/06\/Earth-Satellites-640x480.jpg 640w, https:\/\/astroblog.cosmobc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/06\/Earth-Satellites-750x563.jpg 750w, https:\/\/astroblog.cosmobc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/06\/Earth-Satellites-598x449.jpg 598w, https:\/\/astroblog.cosmobc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/06\/Earth-Satellites-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>As of the beginning of 2023, nearly 15,000 satellites are orbiting our planet \u2014 more, since SpaceX just launched the first rocket of the year with 114 satellites\u00a0in one monumental event. With so many orbiting bodies circling the Earth, it\u2019s a miracle they don\u2019t crash into each other, right?<\/p>\n<p>It might seem like magic, but in reality, it\u2019s because they aren\u2019t all orbiting at the same height. Let\u2019s take a closer look at what LEO, MEO and GEO satellites are, and why more companies are investing in LEO and MEO satellites to support space exploration.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"What Are the Different Earth Orbits? | Neil deGrasse Tyson Explains\u2026\" width=\"1110\" height=\"624\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0swR1AjZURw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Whats_the_Difference_Between_LEO_MEO_and_GEO\"\/>What\u2019s the Difference Between LEO, MEO, and GEO?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"\/><\/h2>\n<p>The difference between them is that low Earth orbit (LEO) includes everything up to 2,000 km above the surface, geostationary orbit (GEO) is at 35,786 km above the equator where satellites appear fixed in the sky, and medium Earth orbit (MEO) is everything in between.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"LEO_%E2%80%94_Low_Earth_Orbit\"\/>LEO \u2014 Low Earth Orbit<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"\/><\/h2>\n<p>Satellites in low Earth orbit, or LEO, are the closest devices to Earth. They\u2019re only up to 2,000 km above the Earth\u2019s surface, or about one third of the radius of the Earth, making them ideal for satellite phone and GPS communication. The relatively small distance means there is a minimal delay between the data leaving the satellite and it reaching its target on Earth \u2014 usually about 0.05 seconds.<\/p>\n<p>It takes a lot of LEO satellites to cover the planet, which is why there are so many of them up there. The Iridium Communications Network will consist of 66 satellites total, while the Starlink constellation will include nearly 12,000 satellites once they\u2019ve all launched, though they won\u2019t all be in LEO.<\/p>\n<p>The International Space Station is also in low Earth orbit.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"MEO_%E2%80%94_Medium_Earth_Orbit\"\/>MEO \u2014 Medium Earth Orbit<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"\/><\/h2>\n<p>Medium Earth orbit, or MEO, satellites are a bit of a middle ground between LEO and GEO orbits, circling the planet at altitudes between 2,000 and 35,786 km. These satellites handle high-speed telephone signals and may, in the future, find a place in the military sector as a tool to provide low-latency high-bandwidth internet to military personnel around the globe.<\/p>\n<p>In spite of a slightly higher signal lag of about 0.1 seconds, depending on the size of the antenna, these MEO satellites can transmit data as quickly as 1.6 gigabits per second. For comparison, the fastest readily available commercial internet, not counting Google Fiber cities, is usually around 100 MB\/s \u2014 less than a tenth of the speed these MEO satellites will be capable of providing.<\/p>\n<p>As these devices move further out into the cold of space, they need more tools to protect the sensitive computer equipment that makes them work. Heat pipes have two purposes \u2014 they can transport heat away from the electronics to prevent them from overheating, and they can redirect that heat to different parts of the satellite to prevent them from freezing.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"GEOGSO_%E2%80%94_Geosynchronous_Equatorial_and_Geostationary_Orbits\"\/>GEO\/GSO \u2014 Geosynchronous Equatorial and Geostationary Orbits<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"\/><\/h2>\n<p>You\u2019ll often hear the terms GEO and GSO used interchangeably, but they\u2019re not always the same. Both types of satellites sit at 35,786 km above Earth\u2019s surface, but the way they orbit is different. Both orbits synchronize with the orbit of the planet, so they appear in the same place every day.<\/p>\n<p>The difference between GEO and GSO is that GEO satellites orbit on an angle between the planet\u2019s poles, while GSO satellites carry out the same high-altitude circular orbit around the Earth\u2019s equator.<\/p>\n<p>Both GEO and GSO satellites carry satellite television signals. GSOs can also forecast the weather and support other types of global communication. It only takes three GEO or GSO satellites to cover the entire planet because of their altitude. If you\u2019re accessing satellite TV or radio, you don\u2019t have to use the antenna to track the satellite because it\u2019s always going to be in the same place.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Satellites_and_Space_Exploration\"\/>Satellites and Space Exploration<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"\/><\/h2>\n<p>Satellites used to be a \u201clast resort\u201d for communicating with remote areas, but today they\u2019re a vital tool to support global information exchange. Eventually, they may even allow us to communicate quickly and easily between bases and colonies on the Moon, Mars and beyond.<\/p>\n<p>SpaceX, OneWeb and even Facebook are working on designing satellite constellations that will provide affordable consumer internet to the entire planet. SpaceX got the ball rolling with the launch of the first 60 satellites of their Starlink constellation. Eventually, these communication satellites will sit in all three orbits, providing fast and affordable internet to anyone with a compatible device.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Looking_Toward_the_Future\"\/>Looking Toward the Future<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"\/><\/h2>\n<p>The future of human communications, both at home and in outer space, lies in the stars \u2014 or, rather, in the constellation of satellites orbiting our planet. We don\u2019t have colonies on our closest celestial neighbors \u2014 yet \u2014 but we\u2019re well on our way to becoming the interstellar species all the science fiction readers and writers have been dreaming about for decades.<\/p>\n<p><em>Originally published on Jun 1, 2019 by Megan Ray Nichols. Last updated on July 28, 2023 by Paul Tomaszewski.<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"342c8a430808ee5770f45cb96cddd88b\" data-index=\"1\" style=\"float: none; margin:10px 0 10px 0; text-align:center;\">\n<h5 align=\"left\">Would you like to receive similar articles by email?<\/h5>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/astroblog.cosmobc.com\/difference-leo-meo-geo-satellites\/?rand=773801\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As of the beginning of 2023, nearly 15,000 satellites are orbiting our planet \u2014 more, since SpaceX just launched the first rocket of the year with 114 satellites\u00a0in one monumental&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":774086,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-774085","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-astroblog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/774085","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=774085"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/774085\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/774086"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=774085"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=774085"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=774085"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}