- Geosynchronous orbits. What makes such an orbit possible and why it is useful.
- In the geosynchronous orbit, the relative velocity is lower, approximately 2 km/s, because most objects move in an eastward direction orbit. At these hyper velocities, pieces of debris have a tremendous amount of kinetic energy. A 1 kg object at a speed of 10 km/s has the same amount of kinetic energy that a fully loaded truck, weighing 35,000.
Three Classes of Orbit
High Earth Orbit
When a satellite reaches exactly 42,164 kilometers from the center of the Earth (about 36,000 kilometers from Earth’s surface), it enters a sort of “sweet spot” in which its orbit matches Earth’s rotation. Because the satellite orbits at the same speed that the Earth is turning, the satellite seems to stay in place over a single longitude, though it may drift north to south. This special, high Earth orbit is called geosynchronous.
A satellite in a circular geosynchronous orbit directly over the equator (eccentricity and inclination at zero) will have a geostationary orbit that does not move at all relative to the ground. It is always directly over the same place on the Earth’s surface.
A geostationary orbit is extremely valuable for weather monitoring because satellites in this orbit provide a constant view of the same surface area. When you log into your favorite weather web site and look at the satellite view of your hometown, the image you are seeing comes from a satellite in geostationary orbit. Every few minutes, geostationary satellites like the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) satellites send information about clouds, water vapor, and wind, and this near-constant stream of information serves as the basis for most weather monitoring and forecasting.
Geosynchronous Ring
Geosynchronous
Geosynchronous definition is - being or having an orbit around the earth with a period equal to one sidereal day; specifically: geostationary.