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id="toc-Disadvantages-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Examples" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Examples"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.2</span> <span>Examples</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Examples-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Former" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Former"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.2.1</span> <span>Former</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Former-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-In_fiction" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#In_fiction"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.2.2</span> <span>In fiction</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-In_fiction-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Space_debris" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Space_debris"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4</span> <span>Space debris</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Space_debris-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-See_also" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#See_also"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5</span> <span>See also</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-See_also-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Notes" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Notes"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6</span> <span>Notes</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Notes-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-References" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#References"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">7</span> <span>References</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-References-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="mw-content-container"> <main id="content" class="mw-body"> <header class="mw-body-header vector-page-titlebar"> <nav aria-label="Contents" class="vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-titlebar-toc vector-button-flush-left" title="Table of Contents" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Toggle the table of contents" > <label id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-label" for="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-listBullet mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-listBullet"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Toggle the table of contents</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <h1 id="firstHeading" class="firstHeading mw-first-heading"><span class="mw-page-title-main">Low Earth orbit</span></h1> <div id="p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown mw-portlet mw-portlet-lang" > <input type="checkbox" id="p-lang-btn-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox mw-interlanguage-selector" aria-label="Go to an article in another language. Available in 59 languages" > <label id="p-lang-btn-label" for="p-lang-btn-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--action-progressive mw-portlet-lang-heading-59" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-language-progressive mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-language-progressive"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">59 languages</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-af mw-list-item"><a href="https://af.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lae_aardwentelbaan" title="Lae aardwentelbaan – Afrikaans" lang="af" hreflang="af" data-title="Lae aardwentelbaan" data-language-autonym="Afrikaans" data-language-local-name="Afrikaans" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Afrikaans</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ar mw-list-item"><a href="https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%85%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%B1_%D8%A3%D8%B1%D8%B6%D9%8A_%D9%85%D9%86%D8%AE%D9%81%D8%B6" title="مدار أرضي منخفض – Arabic" lang="ar" hreflang="ar" data-title="مدار أرضي منخفض" data-language-autonym="العربية" data-language-local-name="Arabic" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>العربية</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-an mw-list-item"><a href="https://an.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbita_baixa_terrestre" title="Orbita baixa terrestre – Aragonese" lang="an" hreflang="an" data-title="Orbita baixa terrestre" data-language-autonym="Aragonés" data-language-local-name="Aragonese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Aragonés</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ast mw-list-item"><a href="https://ast.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%93rbita_baxa_terrestre" title="Órbita baxa terrestre – Asturian" lang="ast" hreflang="ast" data-title="Órbita baxa terrestre" data-language-autonym="Asturianu" data-language-local-name="Asturian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Asturianu</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-bn mw-list-item"><a href="https://bn.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A6%A8%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%AE%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%A8_%E0%A6%AD%E0%A7%82-%E0%A6%95%E0%A6%95%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%B7%E0%A6%AA%E0%A6%A5" title="নিম্ন ভূ-কক্ষপথ – Bangla" lang="bn" hreflang="bn" data-title="নিম্ন ভূ-কক্ষপথ" data-language-autonym="বাংলা" data-language-local-name="Bangla" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>বাংলা</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-be mw-list-item"><a href="https://be.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9D%D1%96%D0%B7%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%8F_%D0%BA%D0%B0%D0%BB%D1%8F%D0%B7%D1%8F%D0%BC%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%8F_%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B1%D1%96%D1%82%D0%B0" title="Нізкая калязямная арбіта – Belarusian" lang="be" hreflang="be" data-title="Нізкая калязямная арбіта" data-language-autonym="Беларуская" data-language-local-name="Belarusian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Беларуская</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-bg mw-list-item"><a href="https://bg.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9D%D0%B8%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0_%D0%BE%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B7%D0%B5%D0%BC%D0%BD%D0%B0_%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B1%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B0" title="Ниска околоземна орбита – Bulgarian" lang="bg" hreflang="bg" data-title="Ниска околоземна орбита" data-language-autonym="Български" data-language-local-name="Bulgarian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Български</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ca mw-list-item"><a href="https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%92rbita_terrestre_baixa" title="Òrbita terrestre baixa – Catalan" lang="ca" hreflang="ca" data-title="Òrbita terrestre baixa" data-language-autonym="Català" data-language-local-name="Catalan" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Català</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-cs mw-list-item"><a href="https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/N%C3%ADzk%C3%A1_ob%C4%9B%C5%BEn%C3%A1_dr%C3%A1ha_Zem%C4%9B" title="Nízká oběžná dráha Země – Czech" lang="cs" hreflang="cs" data-title="Nízká oběžná dráha Země" data-language-autonym="Čeština" data-language-local-name="Czech" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Čeština</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-da mw-list-item"><a href="https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lavt_jordkredsl%C3%B8b" title="Lavt jordkredsløb – Danish" lang="da" hreflang="da" data-title="Lavt jordkredsløb" data-language-autonym="Dansk" data-language-local-name="Danish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Dansk</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-de badge-Q70894304 mw-list-item" title=""><a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niedrige_Erdumlaufbahn" title="Niedrige Erdumlaufbahn – German" lang="de" hreflang="de" data-title="Niedrige Erdumlaufbahn" data-language-autonym="Deutsch" data-language-local-name="German" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Deutsch</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-et mw-list-item"><a href="https://et.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maa-l%C3%A4hedane_orbiit" title="Maa-lähedane orbiit – Estonian" lang="et" hreflang="et" data-title="Maa-lähedane orbiit" data-language-autonym="Eesti" data-language-local-name="Estonian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Eesti</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-es mw-list-item"><a href="https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%93rbita_terrestre_baja" title="Órbita terrestre baja – Spanish" lang="es" hreflang="es" data-title="Órbita terrestre baja" data-language-autonym="Español" data-language-local-name="Spanish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Español</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-eu mw-list-item"><a href="https://eu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lurraren_orbita_baxu" title="Lurraren orbita baxu – Basque" lang="eu" hreflang="eu" data-title="Lurraren orbita baxu" data-language-autonym="Euskara" data-language-local-name="Basque" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Euskara</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fa mw-list-item"><a href="https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%85%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%B1_%D9%BE%D8%A7%DB%8C%DB%8C%D9%86%DB%8C_%D8%B2%D9%85%DB%8C%D9%86" title="مدار پایینی زمین – Persian" lang="fa" hreflang="fa" data-title="مدار پایینی زمین" data-language-autonym="فارسی" data-language-local-name="Persian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>فارسی</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fr mw-list-item"><a href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbite_terrestre_basse" title="Orbite terrestre basse – French" lang="fr" hreflang="fr" data-title="Orbite terrestre basse" data-language-autonym="Français" data-language-local-name="French" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Français</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ga mw-list-item"><a href="https://ga.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fithis_%C3%ADseal_dhomhanda" title="Fithis íseal dhomhanda – Irish" lang="ga" hreflang="ga" data-title="Fithis íseal dhomhanda" data-language-autonym="Gaeilge" data-language-local-name="Irish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Gaeilge</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-gl mw-list-item"><a href="https://gl.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%93rbita_baixa_terrestre" title="Órbita baixa terrestre – Galician" lang="gl" hreflang="gl" data-title="Órbita baixa terrestre" data-language-autonym="Galego" data-language-local-name="Galician" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Galego</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ko mw-list-item"><a href="https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EC%A7%80%EA%B5%AC_%EC%A0%80%EA%B6%A4%EB%8F%84" title="지구 저궤도 – Korean" lang="ko" hreflang="ko" data-title="지구 저궤도" data-language-autonym="한국어" data-language-local-name="Korean" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>한국어</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hy mw-list-item"><a href="https://hy.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D5%91%D5%A1%D5%AE%D6%80_%D5%B4%D5%A5%D6%80%D5%B1%D5%A5%D6%80%D5%AF%D6%80%D5%B5%D5%A1_%D5%B8%D6%82%D5%B2%D5%A5%D5%AE%D5%AB%D6%80" title="Ցածր մերձերկրյա ուղեծիր – Armenian" lang="hy" hreflang="hy" data-title="Ցածր մերձերկրյա ուղեծիր" data-language-autonym="Հայերեն" data-language-local-name="Armenian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Հայերեն</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hi mw-list-item"><a href="https://hi.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A4%A8%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%9A%E0%A4%B2%E0%A5%80_%E0%A4%AA%E0%A5%83%E0%A4%A5%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B5%E0%A5%80_%E0%A4%95%E0%A4%95%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B7%E0%A4%BE" title="निचली पृथ्वी कक्षा – Hindi" lang="hi" hreflang="hi" data-title="निचली पृथ्वी कक्षा" data-language-autonym="हिन्दी" data-language-local-name="Hindi" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>हिन्दी</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hr mw-list-item"><a href="https://hr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niska_orbita_oko_Zemlje" title="Niska orbita oko Zemlje – Croatian" lang="hr" hreflang="hr" data-title="Niska orbita oko Zemlje" data-language-autonym="Hrvatski" data-language-local-name="Croatian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Hrvatski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-id mw-list-item"><a href="https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbit_rendah_Bumi" title="Orbit rendah Bumi – Indonesian" lang="id" hreflang="id" data-title="Orbit rendah Bumi" data-language-autonym="Bahasa Indonesia" data-language-local-name="Indonesian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Bahasa Indonesia</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-it mw-list-item"><a href="https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbita_terrestre_bassa" title="Orbita terrestre bassa – Italian" lang="it" hreflang="it" data-title="Orbita terrestre bassa" data-language-autonym="Italiano" data-language-local-name="Italian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Italiano</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-he mw-list-item"><a href="https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%9E%D7%A1%D7%9C%D7%95%D7%9C_%D7%9C%D7%95%D7%95%D7%99%D7%99%D7%A0%D7%99_%D7%A0%D7%9E%D7%95%D7%9A" title="מסלול לווייני נמוך – Hebrew" lang="he" hreflang="he" data-title="מסלול לווייני נמוך" data-language-autonym="עברית" data-language-local-name="Hebrew" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>עברית</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-lv mw-list-item"><a href="https://lv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zem%C4%81_Zemes_orb%C4%ABta" title="Zemā Zemes orbīta – Latvian" lang="lv" hreflang="lv" data-title="Zemā Zemes orbīta" data-language-autonym="Latviešu" data-language-local-name="Latvian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Latviešu</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-lt mw-list-item"><a href="https://lt.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%BDemoji_%C5%BDem%C4%97s_orbita" title="Žemoji Žemės orbita – Lithuanian" lang="lt" hreflang="lt" data-title="Žemoji Žemės orbita" data-language-autonym="Lietuvių" data-language-local-name="Lithuanian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Lietuvių</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hu mw-list-item"><a href="https://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alacsony_F%C3%B6ld_k%C3%B6r%C3%BCli_p%C3%A1lya" title="Alacsony Föld körüli pálya – Hungarian" lang="hu" hreflang="hu" data-title="Alacsony Föld körüli pálya" data-language-autonym="Magyar" data-language-local-name="Hungarian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Magyar</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-mk mw-list-item"><a href="https://mk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9D%D0%B8%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B7%D0%B5%D0%BC%D1%98%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B0_%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B1%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B0" title="Нискоземјина орбита – Macedonian" lang="mk" hreflang="mk" data-title="Нискоземјина орбита" data-language-autonym="Македонски" data-language-local-name="Macedonian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Македонски</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ms mw-list-item"><a href="https://ms.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbit_rendah_Bumi" title="Orbit rendah Bumi – Malay" lang="ms" hreflang="ms" data-title="Orbit rendah Bumi" data-language-autonym="Bahasa Melayu" data-language-local-name="Malay" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Bahasa Melayu</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ne mw-list-item"><a href="https://ne.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A4%AA%E0%A5%83%E0%A4%A5%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B5%E0%A5%80%E0%A4%95%E0%A5%8B_%E0%A4%A4%E0%A4%B2%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B2%E0%A5%8B_%E0%A4%95%E0%A4%95%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B7" title="पृथ्वीको तल्लो कक्ष – Nepali" lang="ne" hreflang="ne" data-title="पृथ्वीको तल्लो कक्ष" data-language-autonym="नेपाली" data-language-local-name="Nepali" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>नेपाली</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ja mw-list-item"><a href="https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%BD%8E%E8%BB%8C%E9%81%93" title="低軌道 – Japanese" lang="ja" hreflang="ja" data-title="低軌道" data-language-autonym="日本語" data-language-local-name="Japanese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>日本語</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-no mw-list-item"><a href="https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lav_jordbane" title="Lav jordbane – Norwegian Bokmål" lang="nb" hreflang="nb" data-title="Lav jordbane" data-language-autonym="Norsk bokmål" data-language-local-name="Norwegian Bokmål" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Norsk bokmål</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-nn mw-list-item"><a href="https://nn.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%A5g_jordbane" title="Låg jordbane – Norwegian Nynorsk" lang="nn" hreflang="nn" data-title="Låg jordbane" data-language-autonym="Norsk nynorsk" data-language-local-name="Norwegian Nynorsk" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Norsk nynorsk</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-oc mw-list-item"><a href="https://oc.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbita_terrestra_bassa" title="Orbita terrestra bassa – Occitan" lang="oc" hreflang="oc" data-title="Orbita terrestra bassa" data-language-autonym="Occitan" data-language-local-name="Occitan" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Occitan</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ps mw-list-item"><a href="https://ps.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%BC%DB%8C%D9%BC_%DA%81%D9%85%DA%A9%D9%86%DB%8C_%DA%86%D9%88%D8%B1%D9%84%DB%90%DA%81" title="ټیټ ځمکنی چورلېځ – Pashto" lang="ps" hreflang="ps" data-title="ټیټ ځمکنی چورلېځ" data-language-autonym="پښتو" data-language-local-name="Pashto" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>پښتو</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pl mw-list-item"><a href="https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niska_orbita_oko%C5%82oziemska" title="Niska orbita okołoziemska – Polish" lang="pl" hreflang="pl" data-title="Niska orbita okołoziemska" data-language-autonym="Polski" data-language-local-name="Polish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Polski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pt mw-list-item"><a href="https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%93rbita_terrestre_baixa" title="Órbita terrestre baixa – Portuguese" lang="pt" hreflang="pt" data-title="Órbita terrestre baixa" data-language-autonym="Português" data-language-local-name="Portuguese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Português</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ro mw-list-item"><a href="https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbita_joas%C4%83_a_P%C4%83m%C3%A2ntului" title="Orbita joasă a Pământului – Romanian" lang="ro" hreflang="ro" data-title="Orbita joasă a Pământului" data-language-autonym="Română" data-language-local-name="Romanian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Română</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ru mw-list-item"><a href="https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9D%D0%B8%D0%B7%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%8F_%D0%BE%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B7%D0%B5%D0%BC%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%8F_%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B1%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B0" title="Низкая околоземная орбита – Russian" lang="ru" hreflang="ru" data-title="Низкая околоземная орбита" data-language-autonym="Русский" data-language-local-name="Russian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Русский</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-si mw-list-item"><a href="https://si.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B6%B4%E0%B7%84%E0%B7%85_%E0%B6%B4%E0%B7%98%E0%B6%AE%E0%B7%92%E0%B7%80%E0%B7%92_%E0%B6%9A%E0%B6%9A%E0%B7%8A%E0%B7%82%E0%B6%BA" title="පහළ පෘථිවි කක්ෂය – Sinhala" lang="si" hreflang="si" data-title="පහළ පෘථිවි කක්ෂය" data-language-autonym="සිංහල" data-language-local-name="Sinhala" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>සිංහල</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-simple mw-list-item"><a href="https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low_Earth_orbit" title="Low Earth orbit – Simple English" lang="en-simple" hreflang="en-simple" data-title="Low Earth orbit" data-language-autonym="Simple English" data-language-local-name="Simple English" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Simple English</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sk mw-list-item"><a href="https://sk.wikipedia.org/wiki/N%C3%ADzka_obe%C5%BEn%C3%A1_dr%C3%A1ha_Zeme" title="Nízka obežná dráha Zeme – Slovak" lang="sk" hreflang="sk" data-title="Nízka obežná dráha Zeme" data-language-autonym="Slovenčina" data-language-local-name="Slovak" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Slovenčina</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sl mw-list-item"><a href="https://sl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nizkozemeljska_orbita" title="Nizkozemeljska orbita – Slovenian" lang="sl" hreflang="sl" data-title="Nizkozemeljska orbita" data-language-autonym="Slovenščina" data-language-local-name="Slovenian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Slovenščina</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sr mw-list-item"><a href="https://sr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9D%D0%B8%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0_%D0%97%D0%B5%D0%BC%D1%99%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B0_%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B1%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B0" title="Ниска Земљина орбита – Serbian" lang="sr" hreflang="sr" data-title="Ниска Земљина орбита" data-language-autonym="Српски / srpski" data-language-local-name="Serbian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Српски / srpski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sh mw-list-item"><a href="https://sh.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niska_Zemljina_orbita" title="Niska Zemljina orbita – Serbo-Croatian" lang="sh" hreflang="sh" data-title="Niska Zemljina orbita" data-language-autonym="Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски" data-language-local-name="Serbo-Croatian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-su mw-list-item"><a href="https://su.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbit_Bumi_Handap" title="Orbit Bumi Handap – Sundanese" lang="su" hreflang="su" data-title="Orbit Bumi Handap" data-language-autonym="Sunda" data-language-local-name="Sundanese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Sunda</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fi mw-list-item"><a href="https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matala_Maan_kiertorata" title="Matala Maan kiertorata – Finnish" lang="fi" hreflang="fi" data-title="Matala Maan kiertorata" data-language-autonym="Suomi" data-language-local-name="Finnish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Suomi</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sv mw-list-item"><a href="https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%A5g_omloppsbana" title="Låg omloppsbana – Swedish" lang="sv" hreflang="sv" data-title="Låg omloppsbana" data-language-autonym="Svenska" data-language-local-name="Swedish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Svenska</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ta mw-list-item"><a href="https://ta.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%AE%AA%E0%AF%82%E0%AE%AE%E0%AE%BF%E0%AE%AF%E0%AE%BF%E0%AE%A9%E0%AF%8D_%E0%AE%A4%E0%AE%BE%E0%AE%B4%E0%AF%8D_%E0%AE%B5%E0%AE%9F%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%9F%E0%AE%AA%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%AA%E0%AE%BE%E0%AE%A4%E0%AF%88" title="பூமியின் தாழ் வட்டப்பாதை – Tamil" lang="ta" hreflang="ta" data-title="பூமியின் தாழ் வட்டப்பாதை" data-language-autonym="தமிழ்" data-language-local-name="Tamil" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>தமிழ்</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-te mw-list-item"><a href="https://te.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B0%AD%E0%B1%82_%E0%B0%A8%E0%B0%BF%E0%B0%AE%E0%B1%8D%E0%B0%A8_%E0%B0%95%E0%B0%95%E0%B1%8D%E0%B0%B7%E0%B1%8D%E0%B0%AF" title="భూ నిమ్న కక్ష్య – Telugu" lang="te" hreflang="te" data-title="భూ నిమ్న కక్ష్య" data-language-autonym="తెలుగు" data-language-local-name="Telugu" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>తెలుగు</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-th mw-list-item"><a href="https://th.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B8%A7%E0%B8%87%E0%B9%82%E0%B8%84%E0%B8%88%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%95%E0%B9%88%E0%B8%B3%E0%B8%82%E0%B8%AD%E0%B8%87%E0%B9%82%E0%B8%A5%E0%B8%81" title="วงโคจรต่ำของโลก – Thai" lang="th" hreflang="th" data-title="วงโคจรต่ำของโลก" data-language-autonym="ไทย" data-language-local-name="Thai" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>ไทย</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-tg mw-list-item"><a href="https://tg.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9C%D0%B0%D0%B4%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B8_%D0%BF%D0%BE%D0%B9%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B8_%D0%97%D0%B0%D0%BC%D0%B8%D0%BD" title="Мадори пойинии Замин – Tajik" lang="tg" hreflang="tg" data-title="Мадори пойинии Замин" data-language-autonym="Тоҷикӣ" data-language-local-name="Tajik" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Тоҷикӣ</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-tr mw-list-item"><a href="https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al%C3%A7ak_D%C3%BCnya_y%C3%B6r%C3%BCngesi" title="Alçak Dünya yörüngesi – Turkish" lang="tr" hreflang="tr" data-title="Alçak Dünya yörüngesi" data-language-autonym="Türkçe" data-language-local-name="Turkish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Türkçe</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-uk mw-list-item"><a href="https://uk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9D%D0%B8%D0%B7%D1%8C%D0%BA%D0%B0_%D0%BD%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B7%D0%B5%D0%BC%D0%BD%D0%B0_%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B1%D1%96%D1%82%D0%B0" title="Низька навколоземна орбіта – Ukrainian" lang="uk" hreflang="uk" data-title="Низька навколоземна орбіта" data-language-autonym="Українська" data-language-local-name="Ukrainian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Українська</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ur mw-list-item"><a href="https://ur.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%B2%DB%8C%D8%B1%DB%8C%DA%BA_%D8%B2%D9%85%DB%8C%D9%86%DB%8C_%D9%85%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%B1" title="زیریں زمینی مدار – Urdu" lang="ur" hreflang="ur" data-title="زیریں زمینی مدار" data-language-autonym="اردو" data-language-local-name="Urdu" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>اردو</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-vi mw-list-item"><a href="https://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qu%E1%BB%B9_%C4%91%E1%BA%A1o_Tr%C3%A1i_%C4%90%E1%BA%A5t_t%E1%BA%A7m_th%E1%BA%A5p" title="Quỹ đạo Trái Đất tầm thấp – Vietnamese" lang="vi" hreflang="vi" data-title="Quỹ đạo Trái Đất tầm thấp" data-language-autonym="Tiếng Việt" data-language-local-name="Vietnamese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Tiếng Việt</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-zh-yue mw-list-item"><a href="https://zh-yue.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%BD%8E%E5%9C%B0%E7%90%83%E8%BB%8C%E9%81%93" title="低地球軌道 – Cantonese" lang="yue" hreflang="yue" data-title="低地球軌道" data-language-autonym="粵語" data-language-local-name="Cantonese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>粵語</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-zh mw-list-item"><a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%BF%91%E5%9C%B0%E8%BD%A8%E9%81%93" title="近地轨道 – Chinese" lang="zh" hreflang="zh" data-title="近地轨道" data-language-autonym="中文" data-language-local-name="Chinese" 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<div id="mw-content-text" class="mw-body-content"><div class="mw-content-ltr mw-parser-output" lang="en" dir="ltr"><div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none">Orbit around Earth between 160 and 2000 km</div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:ISS-44_Milky_Way.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/20/ISS-44_Milky_Way.jpg/350px-ISS-44_Milky_Way.jpg" decoding="async" width="350" height="233" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/20/ISS-44_Milky_Way.jpg/525px-ISS-44_Milky_Way.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/20/ISS-44_Milky_Way.jpg/700px-ISS-44_Milky_Way.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1600" data-file-height="1065" /></a><figcaption>A view from the <a href="/wiki/International_Space_Station" title="International Space Station">International Space Station</a> in a low Earth orbit (LEO) at about 400 km (250 mi), with yellow-green <a href="/wiki/Airglow" title="Airglow">airglow</a> visible at Earth's <a href="/wiki/Horizon" title="Horizon">horizon</a>, where roughly at an altitude of 100 km (62 mi) the <a href="/wiki/Boundary_of_space" class="mw-redirect" title="Boundary of space">boundary between Earth and outer space</a> lies and flying speeds reach <a href="/wiki/Orbital_speed" title="Orbital speed">orbital velocities</a>.</figcaption></figure> <p>A <b>low Earth orbit</b> (<b>LEO</b>) is an <a href="/wiki/Geocentric_orbit" title="Geocentric orbit">orbit around Earth</a> with a <a href="/wiki/Orbital_period" title="Orbital period">period</a> of 128 minutes or less (making at least 11.25 orbits per day) and an <a href="/wiki/Orbital_eccentricity" title="Orbital eccentricity">eccentricity</a> less than 0.25.<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Most of the artificial objects in <a href="/wiki/Outer_space" title="Outer space">outer space</a> are in LEO, peaking in number at an altitude around 800 km (500 mi),<sup id="cite_ref-l496_2-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-l496-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> while the farthest in LEO, before <a href="/wiki/Medium_Earth_orbit" title="Medium Earth orbit">medium Earth orbit</a> (MEO), have an altitude of 2,000 kilometers, about one-third of the <a href="/wiki/Earth_radius" title="Earth radius">radius of Earth</a> and near the beginning of the <a href="/wiki/Van_Allen_radiation_belt#Inner_belt" title="Van Allen radiation belt">inner Van Allen radiation belt</a>. </p><p>The term <i>LEO region</i> is used for the area of space below an <a href="/wiki/Altitude" title="Altitude">altitude</a> of 2,000 km (1,200 mi) (about one-third of Earth's radius).<sup id="cite_ref-UNOOSA_3-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-UNOOSA-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Objects in orbits that pass through this zone, even if they have an <a href="/wiki/Apogee" class="mw-redirect" title="Apogee">apogee</a> further out or are <a href="/wiki/Sub-orbital_spaceflight" title="Sub-orbital spaceflight">sub-orbital</a>, are carefully tracked since they present a collision risk to the many LEO satellites. </p><p>No <a href="/wiki/Human_spaceflight" title="Human spaceflight">human spaceflights</a> other than the lunar missions of the <a href="/wiki/Apollo_program" title="Apollo program">Apollo program</a> (1968-1972) have taken place beyond LEO. All <a href="/wiki/Space_station" title="Space station">space stations</a> to date have operated <a href="/wiki/Geocentric_orbit" title="Geocentric orbit">geocentric</a> within LEO.<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Defining_characteristics">Defining characteristics</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Low_Earth_orbit&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Defining characteristics"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>A wide variety of sources<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> define LEO in terms of <a href="/wiki/Altitude" title="Altitude">altitude</a>. The altitude of an object in an <a href="/wiki/Elliptic_orbit" title="Elliptic orbit">elliptic orbit</a> can vary significantly along the orbit. Even for <a href="/wiki/Circular_orbit" title="Circular orbit">circular orbits</a>, the altitude above ground can vary by as much as 30 km (19 mi) (especially for <a href="/wiki/Polar_orbit" title="Polar orbit">polar orbits</a>) due to the <a href="/wiki/Flattening" title="Flattening">oblateness</a> of <a href="/wiki/Figure_of_the_Earth" title="Figure of the Earth">Earth's spheroid figure</a> and local <a href="/wiki/Topography" title="Topography">topography</a>. While definitions based on altitude are inherently ambiguous, most of them fall within the range specified by an orbit period of 128 minutes because, according to <a href="/wiki/Orbital_period" title="Orbital period">Kepler's third law</a>, this corresponds to a <a href="/wiki/Semi-major_and_semi-minor_axes" title="Semi-major and semi-minor axes">semi-major axis</a> of 8,413 km (5,228 mi). For circular orbits, this in turn corresponds to an altitude of 2,042 km (1,269 mi) above the mean radius of Earth, which is consistent with some of the upper altitude limits in some LEO definitions. </p><p>The LEO region is defined by some sources as a region in space that LEO orbits occupy.<sup id="cite_ref-UNOOSA_3-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-UNOOSA-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-9" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Some <a href="/wiki/Highly_elliptical_orbit" title="Highly elliptical orbit">highly elliptical orbits</a> may pass through the LEO region near their lowest altitude (or <a href="/wiki/Apsis" title="Apsis">perigee</a>) but are not in a LEO orbit because their highest altitude (or <a href="/wiki/Apsis" title="Apsis">apogee</a>) exceeds 2,000 km (1,243 mi). <a href="/wiki/Sub-orbital_spaceflight" title="Sub-orbital spaceflight">Sub-orbital</a> objects can also reach the LEO region but are not in a LEO orbit because they <a href="/wiki/Atmospheric_entry" title="Atmospheric entry">re-enter the atmosphere</a>. The distinction between LEO orbits and the LEO region is especially important for analysis of possible collisions between objects which may not themselves be in LEO but could collide with satellites or debris in LEO orbits. </p> <figure class="mw-halign-center" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Orbitalaltitudes.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b8/Orbitalaltitudes.svg/700px-Orbitalaltitudes.svg.png" decoding="async" width="700" height="258" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b8/Orbitalaltitudes.svg/1050px-Orbitalaltitudes.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b8/Orbitalaltitudes.svg/1400px-Orbitalaltitudes.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="4500" data-file-height="1656" /></a><figcaption></figcaption></figure> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Orbital_characteristics">Orbital characteristics</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Low_Earth_orbit&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Orbital characteristics"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The mean orbital velocity needed to maintain a stable low Earth orbit is about 7.8 km/s (4.8 mi/s), which translates to 28,000 km/h (17,000 mph). However, this depends on the exact altitude of the orbit. Calculated for a circular orbit of 200 km (120 mi) the orbital velocity is 7.79 km/s (4.84 mi/s), but for a higher 1,500 km (930 mi) orbit the velocity is reduced to 7.12 km/s (4.42 mi/s).<sup id="cite_ref-10" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-10"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>10<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The launch vehicle's <a href="/wiki/Delta-v" title="Delta-v">delta-v</a> needed to achieve low Earth orbit starts around 9.4 km/s (5.8 mi/s). </p><p>The pull of <a href="/wiki/Gravity" title="Gravity">gravity</a> in LEO is only slightly less than on the Earth's surface. This is because the distance to LEO from the Earth's surface is much less than the Earth's radius. However, an object in orbit is in a permanent <a href="/wiki/Free_fall" title="Free fall">free fall</a> around Earth, because in orbit the <a href="/wiki/Gravity" title="Gravity">gravitational force</a> and the <a href="/wiki/Centrifugal_force" title="Centrifugal force">centrifugal force</a> balance each other out.<sup id="cite_ref-11" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-11"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>a<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> As a result, spacecraft in orbit continue to stay in orbit, and people inside or outside such craft continuously experience <a href="/wiki/Weightlessness" title="Weightlessness">weightlessness</a>. </p><p>Objects in LEO orbit Earth between the denser part of the atmosphere and below the inner <a href="/wiki/Van_Allen_radiation_belt" title="Van Allen radiation belt">Van Allen radiation belt</a>. They encounter atmospheric drag from <a href="/wiki/Gases" class="mw-redirect" title="Gases">gases</a> in the <a href="/wiki/Thermosphere" title="Thermosphere">thermosphere</a> (approximately 80–600 km above the surface) or <a href="/wiki/Exosphere" title="Exosphere">exosphere</a> (approximately 600 km or 400 mi and higher), depending on orbit height. Satellites in orbits that reach altitudes below 300 km (190 mi) <a href="/wiki/Orbital_decay" title="Orbital decay">decay</a> quickly due to atmospheric drag. </p><p>Equatorial low Earth orbits (<b>ELEO</b>) are a subset of LEO. These orbits, with low <a href="/wiki/Orbital_inclination" title="Orbital inclination">orbital inclination</a>, allow rapid revisit times over low-latitude locations on Earth. <a href="/wiki/Retrograde_and_prograde_motion" title="Retrograde and prograde motion">Prograde</a> equatorial LEOs also have lower <a href="/wiki/Delta-v" title="Delta-v">delta-v</a> launch requirements because they take advantage of the Earth's rotation. Other useful LEO orbits including <a href="/wiki/Polar_orbit" title="Polar orbit">polar orbits</a> and <a href="/wiki/Sun-synchronous_orbit" title="Sun-synchronous orbit">Sun-synchronous orbits</a> have a higher inclinations to the equator and provide coverage for higher latitudes on Earth. Some of the first generation of <a href="/wiki/Starlink" title="Starlink">Starlink</a> satellites used polar orbits which provide coverage everywhere on Earth. Later Starlink constellations orbit at a lower inclination and provide more coverage for populated areas. </p><p>Higher orbits include <a href="/wiki/Medium_Earth_orbit" title="Medium Earth orbit">medium Earth orbit</a> (MEO), sometimes called intermediate circular orbit (ICO), and further above, <a href="/wiki/Geostationary_orbit" title="Geostationary orbit">geostationary orbit</a> (GEO). Orbits higher than low orbit can lead to early failure of electronic components due to intense <a href="/wiki/Radiation" title="Radiation">radiation</a> and charge accumulation. </p><p>In 2017, "<a href="/wiki/Very_low_Earth_orbit" title="Very low Earth orbit">very low Earth orbits</a>" (<b>VLEO</b>) began to be seen in <a href="/wiki/Regulatory_agency" title="Regulatory agency">regulatory</a> filings. These orbits, below about 450 km (280 mi), require the use of novel technologies for <a href="/wiki/Orbit_raising" class="mw-redirect" title="Orbit raising">orbit raising</a> because they operate in orbits that would ordinarily decay too soon to be economically useful.<sup id="cite_ref-12" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-12"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-pa20170303_13-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-pa20170303-13"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>12<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Use">Use</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Low_Earth_orbit&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Use"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><span><video id="mwe_player_0" poster="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Sunrise_To_Sunset_Aboard_The_ISS.ogv/220px--Sunrise_To_Sunset_Aboard_The_ISS.ogv.jpg" controls="" preload="none" data-mw-tmh="" class="mw-file-element" width="220" height="124" data-durationhint="76" data-mwtitle="Sunrise_To_Sunset_Aboard_The_ISS.ogv" data-mwprovider="wikimediacommons" resource="/wiki/File:Sunrise_To_Sunset_Aboard_The_ISS.ogv"><source src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/4/4c/Sunrise_To_Sunset_Aboard_The_ISS.ogv/Sunrise_To_Sunset_Aboard_The_ISS.ogv.480p.vp9.webm" type="video/webm; codecs="vp9, opus"" data-transcodekey="480p.vp9.webm" data-width="854" data-height="480" /><source src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/4/4c/Sunrise_To_Sunset_Aboard_The_ISS.ogv/Sunrise_To_Sunset_Aboard_The_ISS.ogv.720p.vp9.webm" type="video/webm; codecs="vp9, opus"" data-transcodekey="720p.vp9.webm" data-width="1280" data-height="720" /><source src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Sunrise_To_Sunset_Aboard_The_ISS.ogv" type="video/ogg; codecs="theora"" data-width="1280" data-height="720" /><source src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/4/4c/Sunrise_To_Sunset_Aboard_The_ISS.ogv/Sunrise_To_Sunset_Aboard_The_ISS.ogv.144p.mjpeg.mov" type="video/quicktime" data-transcodekey="144p.mjpeg.mov" data-width="256" data-height="144" /><source src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/4/4c/Sunrise_To_Sunset_Aboard_The_ISS.ogv/Sunrise_To_Sunset_Aboard_The_ISS.ogv.240p.vp9.webm" type="video/webm; codecs="vp9, opus"" data-transcodekey="240p.vp9.webm" data-width="426" data-height="240" /><source src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/4/4c/Sunrise_To_Sunset_Aboard_The_ISS.ogv/Sunrise_To_Sunset_Aboard_The_ISS.ogv.360p.webm" type="video/webm; codecs="vp8, vorbis"" data-transcodekey="360p.webm" data-width="640" data-height="360" /><source src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/4/4c/Sunrise_To_Sunset_Aboard_The_ISS.ogv/Sunrise_To_Sunset_Aboard_The_ISS.ogv.360p.vp9.webm" type="video/webm; codecs="vp9, opus"" data-transcodekey="360p.vp9.webm" data-width="640" data-height="360" /></video></span><figcaption>Roughly half an orbit of the <a href="/wiki/International_Space_Station" title="International Space Station">International Space Station</a></figcaption></figure> <p>A low Earth orbit requires the lowest amount of energy for satellite placement. It provides high bandwidth and low communication <a href="/wiki/Latency_(engineering)" title="Latency (engineering)">latency</a>. Satellites and space stations in LEO are more accessible for crew and servicing. </p><p>Since it requires less <a href="/wiki/Energy" title="Energy">energy</a> to place a satellite into a LEO, and a satellite there needs less powerful amplifiers for successful transmission, LEO is used for many communication applications, such as the <a href="/wiki/Iridium_Communications" title="Iridium Communications">Iridium phone system</a>. Some <a href="/wiki/Communication_satellite" class="mw-redirect" title="Communication satellite">communication satellites</a> use much higher <a href="/wiki/Geostationary_orbit" title="Geostationary orbit">geostationary orbits</a> and move at the same angular velocity as the Earth as to appear stationary above one location on the planet. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Disadvantages">Disadvantages</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Low_Earth_orbit&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Disadvantages"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Unlike <a href="/wiki/Geosynchronous_satellite" title="Geosynchronous satellite">geosynchronous satellites</a>, satellites in low orbit have a small <a href="/wiki/Field_of_view" title="Field of view">field of view</a> and can only observe and communicate with a fraction of the Earth at a given time. This means that a large network (or <a href="/wiki/Satellite_constellation" title="Satellite constellation">constellation</a>) of satellites is required to provide continuous coverage. </p><p>Satellites at lower altitudes of orbit are in the atmosphere and suffer from rapid <a href="/wiki/Orbital_decay" title="Orbital decay">orbital decay</a>, requiring either periodic re-boosting to maintain stable orbits, or the launching of replacements for those that re-enter the atmosphere. The effects of adding such quantities of vaporized metals to Earth's <a href="/wiki/Stratosphere" title="Stratosphere">stratosphere</a> are potentially of concern but currently unknown.<sup id="cite_ref-14" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-14"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>13<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Examples">Examples</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Low_Earth_orbit&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Examples"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li>The <a href="/wiki/International_Space_Station" title="International Space Station">International Space Station</a> is in LEO about 400 to 420 kilometres (250 to 260 mi) above the Earth's surface.<sup id="cite_ref-15" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-15"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>14<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The station’s orbit decays by about 2 km/month (1.2 mi/month) and consequently needs re-boosting a few times a year.</li> <li>The <a href="/wiki/Iridium_satellite_constellation" title="Iridium satellite constellation">Iridium telecom satellites</a> orbit at about 780 km (480 mi).</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Earth_observation_satellite" title="Earth observation satellite">Earth observation satellites</a>, also known as <a href="/wiki/Remote_sensing" title="Remote sensing">remote sensing</a> satellites, including <a href="/wiki/Spy_satellite" class="mw-redirect" title="Spy satellite">spy satellites</a> and other <a href="/wiki/Earth_imaging" class="mw-redirect" title="Earth imaging">Earth imaging</a> satellites, use LEO as they are able to see the surface of the Earth more clearly by being closer to it. A majority of artificial <a href="/wiki/Satellite" title="Satellite">satellites</a> are placed in LEO.<sup id="cite_ref-16" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-16"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>15<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Satellites can also take advantage of consistent lighting of the surface below via <a href="/wiki/Sun-synchronous_orbit" title="Sun-synchronous orbit">Sun-synchronous LEO orbits</a> at an altitude of about 800 km (500 mi) and near polar inclination. <a href="/wiki/Envisat" title="Envisat">Envisat</a> (2002–2012) is one example.</li> <li>The <a href="/wiki/Hubble_Space_Telescope" title="Hubble Space Telescope">Hubble Space Telescope</a> orbits at about 540 km (340 mi) above Earth.</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Satellite_internet_constellation" title="Satellite internet constellation">Satellite internet constellations</a> such as <a href="/wiki/Starlink" title="Starlink">Starlink</a>.</li> <li>The Chinese <a href="/wiki/Tiangong_space_station" title="Tiangong space station">Tiangong space station</a> was launched in April 2021 and currently orbits between 340 and 450 km (210 and 280 mi) above the Earth's surface.</li> <li>The <a href="/wiki/Gravimetry" title="Gravimetry">gravimetry</a> mission <a href="/wiki/GRACE-FO" class="mw-redirect" title="GRACE-FO">GRACE-FO</a> orbits at about 500 km (310 mi) as did its predecessor, <a href="/wiki/Gravity_Recovery_and_Climate_Experiment" class="mw-redirect" title="Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment">GRACE</a>.</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Former">Former</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Low_Earth_orbit&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Former"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/GOCE" title="GOCE">GOCE</a> (2009-2013), an <a href="/wiki/ESA" class="mw-redirect" title="ESA">ESA</a> gravimetry mission, orbited at about 255 km (158 mi).</li></ul> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Super_Low_Altitude_Test_Satellite" title="Super Low Altitude Test Satellite">Super Low Altitude Test Satellite</a> (2017-2019), nicknamed <i>Tsubame</i>, orbited at 167.4 km (104.0 mi), the lowest altitude ever among Earth observation satellites.<sup id="cite_ref-17" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-17"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>16<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="In_fiction">In fiction</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Low_Earth_orbit&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: In fiction"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li>In the film <i><a href="/wiki/2001:_A_Space_Odyssey_(film)" class="mw-redirect" title="2001: A Space Odyssey (film)">2001: A Space Odyssey</a></i>, Earth's transit station ("Space Station V") "orbited 300 km above Earth".<sup id="cite_ref-18" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-18"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>17<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Space_debris">Space debris</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Low_Earth_orbit&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: Space debris"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1251242444">.mw-parser-output .ambox{border:1px solid #a2a9b1;border-left:10px solid #36c;background-color:#fbfbfb;box-sizing:border-box}.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+style+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+style+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+link+.ambox{margin-top:-1px}html body.mediawiki .mw-parser-output .ambox.mbox-small-left{margin:4px 1em 4px 0;overflow:hidden;width:238px;border-collapse:collapse;font-size:88%;line-height:1.25em}.mw-parser-output .ambox-speedy{border-left:10px solid #b32424;background-color:#fee7e6}.mw-parser-output .ambox-delete{border-left:10px solid #b32424}.mw-parser-output .ambox-content{border-left:10px solid #f28500}.mw-parser-output .ambox-style{border-left:10px solid #fc3}.mw-parser-output .ambox-move{border-left:10px solid #9932cc}.mw-parser-output .ambox-protection{border-left:10px solid #a2a9b1}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-text{border:none;padding:0.25em 0.5em;width:100%}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-image{border:none;padding:2px 0 2px 0.5em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-imageright{border:none;padding:2px 0.5em 2px 0;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-empty-cell{border:none;padding:0;width:1px}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-image-div{width:52px}@media(min-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .ambox{margin:0 10%}}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .ambox{display:none!important}}</style><table class="box-Missing_information plainlinks metadata ambox ambox-content" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td class="mbox-image"><div class="mbox-image-div"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/6/6c/Wiki_letter_w.svg/44px-Wiki_letter_w.svg.png" decoding="async" width="44" height="44" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/6/6c/Wiki_letter_w.svg/66px-Wiki_letter_w.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/6/6c/Wiki_letter_w.svg/88px-Wiki_letter_w.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="44" data-file-height="44" /></a></span></div></td><td class="mbox-text"><div class="mbox-text-span">This section <b>is missing information</b> about debris lifespan.<span class="hide-when-compact"> Please expand the section to include this information. Further details may exist on the <a href="/wiki/Talk:Low_Earth_orbit" title="Talk:Low Earth orbit">talk page</a>.</span> <span class="date-container"><i>(<span class="date">August 2023</span>)</i></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table> <p>The LEO environment is becoming congested with <a href="/wiki/Space_debris" title="Space debris">space debris</a> because of the frequency of object launches.<sup id="cite_ref-19" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-19"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>18<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> This has caused growing concern in recent years, since collisions at orbital velocities can be dangerous or deadly. Collisions can produce additional space debris, creating a <a href="/wiki/Domino_effect" title="Domino effect">domino effect</a> known as <a href="/wiki/Kessler_syndrome" title="Kessler syndrome">Kessler syndrome</a>. <a href="/wiki/NASA" title="NASA">NASA's</a> Orbital Debris Program tracks over 25,000 objects larger than 10 cm diameter in LEO, while the estimated number between 1 and 10 cm is 500,000, and the number of particles bigger than 1 mm exceeds 100 million.<sup id="cite_ref-20" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-20"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>19<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The particles travel at speeds up to 7.8 km/s (28,000 km/h; 17,500 mph), so even a small impact can severely damage a spacecraft.<sup id="cite_ref-21" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-21"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>20<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Low_Earth_orbit&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: See also"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1184024115">.mw-parser-output .div-col{margin-top:0.3em;column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .div-col-small{font-size:90%}.mw-parser-output .div-col-rules{column-rule:1px solid #aaa}.mw-parser-output .div-col dl,.mw-parser-output .div-col ol,.mw-parser-output .div-col ul{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .div-col li,.mw-parser-output .div-col dd{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}</style><div class="div-col"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Comparison_of_orbital_launch_systems" title="Comparison of orbital launch systems">Comparison of orbital launch systems</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geostationary_orbit" title="Geostationary orbit">Geostationary orbit</a> (GEO)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Heavy-lift_launch_vehicle" title="Heavy-lift launch vehicle">Heavy-lift launch vehicle</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/High_Earth_orbit" title="High Earth orbit">High Earth orbit</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Highly_elliptical_orbit" title="Highly elliptical orbit">Highly elliptical orbit</a> (HEO)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_orbits" title="List of orbits">List of orbits</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Medium_Earth_orbit" title="Medium Earth orbit">Medium Earth orbit</a> (MEO)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Medium-lift_launch_vehicle" title="Medium-lift launch vehicle">Medium-lift launch vehicle</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Specific_orbital_energy#Examples" title="Specific orbital energy">Specific orbital energy examples</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Suborbital_spaceflight" class="mw-redirect" title="Suborbital spaceflight">Suborbital spaceflight</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Space_domain_awareness" title="Space domain awareness">Space domain awareness</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Van_Allen_radiation_belt" title="Van Allen radiation belt">Van Allen radiation belt</a></li></ul> </div> <div style="clear:both;" class=""></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Notes">Notes</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Low_Earth_orbit&action=edit&section=10" title="Edit section: Notes"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist reflist-columns references-column-width reflist-lower-alpha" style="column-width: 30em;"> <ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-11"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-11">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">It is important to note here that “free fall” by definition requires that <i>gravity</i> is the only force acting on the object. That definition is still fulfilled when falling around Earth, as the other force, the <i>centrifugal force</i> is a <a href="/wiki/Fictitious_force" title="Fictitious force">fictitious force</a>.</span> </li> </ol></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Low_Earth_orbit&action=edit&section=11" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p class="mw-empty-elt"> </p> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1239543626"><div class="reflist reflist-columns references-column-width" style="column-width: 30em;"> <ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-1">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.space-track.org/#/recent">"Current Catalog Files"</a>. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20180626190758/https://www.space-track.org/#/recent">Archived</a> from the original on 26 June 2018<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">13 July</span> 2018</span>. <q>LEO: Mean Motion > 11.25 & Eccentricity < 0.25</q></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Current+Catalog+Files&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.space-track.org%2F%23%2Frecent&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ALow+Earth+orbit" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-l496-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-l496_2-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFMuciaccia2021" class="citation thesis cs1">Muciaccia, Andrea (2021). <i>Fragmentations in low Earth orbit: event detection and parent body identification</i> (Thesis). <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.13140%2FRG.2.2.27621.52966">10.13140/RG.2.2.27621.52966</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adissertation&rft.title=Fragmentations+in+low+Earth+orbit%3A+event+detection+and+parent+body+identification&rft.date=2021&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.13140%2FRG.2.2.27621.52966&rft.aulast=Muciaccia&rft.aufirst=Andrea&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ALow+Earth+orbit" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-UNOOSA-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-UNOOSA_3-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-UNOOSA_3-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.unoosa.org/documents/pdf/spacelaw/sd/IADC-2002-01-IADC-Space_Debris-Guidelines-Revision1.pdf">"IADC Space Debris Mitigation Guidelines"</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span>. INTER-AGENCY SPACE DEBRIS COORDINATION COMMITTEE: Issued by Steering Group and Working Group 4. September 2007. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20180717154257/http://www.unoosa.org/documents/pdf/spacelaw/sd/IADC-2002-01-IADC-Space_Debris-Guidelines-Revision1.pdf">Archived</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span> from the original on 17 July 2018<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">17 July</span> 2018</span>. <q>Region A, Low Earth Orbit (or LEO) Region – spherical region that extends from the Earth's surface up to an altitude (Z) of 2,000 km</q></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=IADC+Space+Debris+Mitigation+Guidelines&rft.pub=INTER-AGENCY+SPACE+DEBRIS+COORDINATION+COMMITTEE%3A+Issued+by+Steering+Group+and+Working+Group+4&rft.date=2007-09&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.unoosa.org%2Fdocuments%2Fpdf%2Fspacelaw%2Fsd%2FIADC-2002-01-IADC-Space_Debris-Guidelines-Revision1.pdf&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ALow+Earth+orbit" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-4">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFParavanoRosseauLocatelliWeinzierl2025" class="citation journal cs1">Paravano, Alessandro; Rosseau, Brendan; Locatelli, Giorgio; Weinzierl, Mathew; Trucco, Paolo (1 March 2025). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.actaastro.2024.11.060">"Toward the LEO economy: A value assessment of commercial space stations for space and non-space users"</a>. <i>Acta Astronautica</i>. <b>228</b>: <span class="nowrap">453–</span>473. <a href="/wiki/Bibcode_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Bibcode (identifier)">Bibcode</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2025AcAau.228..453P">2025AcAau.228..453P</a>. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<span class="id-lock-free" title="Freely accessible"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.actaastro.2024.11.060">10.1016/j.actaastro.2024.11.060</a></span>. <a href="/wiki/ISSN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISSN (identifier)">ISSN</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0094-5765">0094-5765</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Acta+Astronautica&rft.atitle=Toward+the+LEO+economy%3A+A+value+assessment+of+commercial+space+stations+for+space+and+non-space+users&rft.volume=228&rft.pages=%3Cspan+class%3D%22nowrap%22%3E453-%3C%2Fspan%3E473&rft.date=2025-03-01&rft.issn=0094-5765&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1016%2Fj.actaastro.2024.11.060&rft_id=info%3Abibcode%2F2025AcAau.228..453P&rft.aulast=Paravano&rft.aufirst=Alessandro&rft.au=Rosseau%2C+Brendan&rft.au=Locatelli%2C+Giorgio&rft.au=Weinzierl%2C+Mathew&rft.au=Trucco%2C+Paolo&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fdoi.org%2F10.1016%252Fj.actaastro.2024.11.060&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ALow+Earth+orbit" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-5">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/low%20earth%20orbit">"Definition of LOW EARTH ORBIT"</a>. <i>Merriam-Webster Dictionary</i>. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20180708162215/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/low%20earth%20orbit">Archived</a> from the original on 8 July 2018<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">8 July</span> 2018</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Merriam-Webster+Dictionary&rft.atitle=Definition+of+LOW+EARTH+ORBIT&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.merriam-webster.com%2Fdictionary%2Flow%2520earth%2520orbit&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ALow+Earth+orbit" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-6">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.faa.gov/space/additional_information/faq/#s1">"Frequently Asked Questions"</a>. FAA. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200602021356/https://www.faa.gov/space/additional_information/faq/#s1">Archived</a> from the original on 2 June 2020<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">14 February</span> 2020</span>. <q>LEO refers to orbits that are typically less than 2,400 km (1,491 mi) in altitude.</q></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Frequently+Asked+Questions&rft.pub=FAA&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.faa.gov%2Fspace%2Fadditional_information%2Ffaq%2F%23s1&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ALow+Earth+orbit" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-7"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-7">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFCampbell2015" class="citation news cs1">Campbell, Ashley (10 July 2015). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/heo/scan/definitions/glossary/index.html#L">"SCaN Glossary"</a>. NASA. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200803122937/https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/heo/scan/definitions/glossary/index.html#L">Archived</a> from the original on 3 August 2020<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">12 July</span> 2018</span>. <q>Low Earth Orbit (LEO): A geocentric orbit with an altitude much less than the Earth's radius. Satellites in this orbit are between 80 and 2000 kilometers above the Earth's surface.</q></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=SCaN+Glossary&rft.date=2015-07-10&rft.aulast=Campbell&rft.aufirst=Ashley&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nasa.gov%2Fdirectorates%2Fheo%2Fscan%2Fdefinitions%2Fglossary%2Findex.html%23L&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ALow+Earth+orbit" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-8"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-8">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation news cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/5-8/features/nasa-knows/what-is-orbit-58.html">"What Is an Orbit?"</a>. <i>NASA</i>. David Hitt : NASA Educational Technology Services, Alice Wesson : JPL, J.D. Harrington : HQ;, Larry Cooper : HQ;, Flint Wild : MSFC;, Ann Marie Trotta : HQ;, Diedra Williams : MSFC. 1 June 2015. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20180327095840/https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/5-8/features/nasa-knows/what-is-orbit-58.html">Archived</a> from the original on 27 March 2018<span class="reference-accessdate">. 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.navbox-abovebelow,.mw-parser-output .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-title{background-color:#ddf}.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-abovebelow{background-color:#e6e6ff}.mw-parser-output .navbox-even{background-color:#f7f7f7}.mw-parser-output .navbox-odd{background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td dl,.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td ol,.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td ul,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist ul{padding:0.125em 0}.mw-parser-output .navbox .navbar{display:block;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .navbox-title .navbar{float:left;text-align:left;margin-right:0.5em}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .navbox-image img{max-width:none!important}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .navbox{display:none!important}}</style></div><div role="navigation" class="navbox" aria-labelledby="Gravitational_orbits256" style="padding:3px"><table class="nowraplinks hlist mw-collapsible mw-collapsed navbox-inner" style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><th scope="col" class="navbox-title" colspan="2"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239400231">.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:inline;font-size:88%;font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .navbar-collapse{float:left;text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .navbar-boxtext{word-spacing:0}.mw-parser-output .navbar ul{display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;line-height:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::before{margin-right:-0.125em;content:"[ "}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::after{margin-left:-0.125em;content:" ]"}.mw-parser-output .navbar li{word-spacing:-0.125em}.mw-parser-output .navbar a>span,.mw-parser-output .navbar a>abbr{text-decoration:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-mini abbr{font-variant:small-caps;border-bottom:none;text-decoration:none;cursor:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-full{font-size:114%;margin:0 7em}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-mini{font-size:114%;margin:0 4em}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}@media(prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}}@media print{.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:none!important}}</style><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:Orbits" title="Template:Orbits"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Orbits" title="Template talk:Orbits"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Orbits" title="Special:EditPage/Template:Orbits"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div><div id="Gravitational_orbits256" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em">Gravitational <a href="/wiki/Orbit" title="Orbit">orbits</a></div></th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/List_of_orbits" title="List of orbits">Types</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0"><tbody><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:6em">General</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Box_orbit" title="Box orbit">Box</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Parabolic_trajectory" title="Parabolic trajectory">Capture</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Circular_orbit" title="Circular orbit">Circular</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Elliptic_orbit" title="Elliptic orbit">Elliptical</a> / <a href="/wiki/Highly_elliptical_orbit" title="Highly elliptical orbit">Highly elliptical</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Parabolic_trajectory" title="Parabolic trajectory">Escape</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Horseshoe_orbit" title="Horseshoe orbit">Horseshoe</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hyperbolic_trajectory" title="Hyperbolic trajectory">Hyperbolic trajectory</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Inclined_orbit" title="Inclined orbit">Inclined</a> / <a href="/wiki/Non-inclined_orbit" class="mw-redirect" title="Non-inclined orbit">Non-inclined</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kepler_orbit" title="Kepler orbit">Kepler</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lagrange_point" title="Lagrange point">Lagrange point</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Osculating_orbit" title="Osculating orbit">Osculating</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Parabolic_trajectory" title="Parabolic trajectory">Parabolic trajectory</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Parking_orbit" title="Parking orbit">Parking</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Retrograde_and_prograde_motion" title="Retrograde and prograde motion">Prograde / Retrograde</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Synchronous_orbit" title="Synchronous orbit">Synchronous</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Semi-synchronous_orbit" title="Semi-synchronous orbit">semi</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Subsynchronous_orbit" title="Subsynchronous orbit">sub</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hohmann_transfer_orbit" title="Hohmann transfer orbit">Transfer orbit</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:6em"><a href="/wiki/Geocentric_orbit" title="Geocentric orbit">Geocentric</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Geosynchronous_orbit" title="Geosynchronous orbit">Geosynchronous</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Geostationary_orbit" title="Geostationary orbit">Geostationary</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geostationary_transfer_orbit" title="Geostationary transfer orbit">Geostationary transfer</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Graveyard_orbit" title="Graveyard orbit">Graveyard</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/High_Earth_orbit" title="High Earth orbit">High Earth</a></li> <li><a class="mw-selflink selflink">Low Earth</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Medium_Earth_orbit" title="Medium Earth orbit">Medium Earth</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Molniya_orbit" title="Molniya orbit">Molniya</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Near-equatorial_orbit" title="Near-equatorial orbit">Near-equatorial</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Orbit_of_the_Moon" title="Orbit of the Moon">Orbit of the Moon</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Polar_orbit" title="Polar orbit">Polar</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sun-synchronous_orbit" title="Sun-synchronous orbit">Sun-synchronous</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Transatmospheric_orbit" title="Transatmospheric orbit">Transatmospheric</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tundra_orbit" title="Tundra orbit">Tundra</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Very_low_Earth_orbit" title="Very low Earth orbit">Very low Earth</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:6em">About<br />other points</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li>Mars <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Areocentric_orbit" title="Areocentric orbit">Areocentric</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Areosynchronous_orbit" title="Areosynchronous orbit">Areosynchronous</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Areostationary_orbit" title="Areostationary orbit">Areostationary</a></li></ul></li> <li>Lagrange points <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Distant_retrograde_orbit" title="Distant retrograde orbit">Distant retrograde</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Halo_orbit" title="Halo orbit">Halo</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lissajous_orbit" title="Lissajous orbit">Lissajous</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Libration_point_orbit" title="Libration point orbit">Libration</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lunar_orbit" title="Lunar orbit">Lunar</a></li> <li>Sun <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Heliocentric_orbit" title="Heliocentric orbit">Heliocentric</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Earth%27s_orbit" title="Earth's orbit">Earth's orbit</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mars_cycler" title="Mars cycler">Mars cycler</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sun-synchronous_orbit" title="Sun-synchronous orbit">Heliosynchronous</a></li></ul></li> <li>Other <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Lunar_cycler" title="Lunar cycler">Lunar cycler</a></li></ul></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Orbital_elements" title="Orbital elements">Parameters</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0"><tbody><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:6em"><div class="hlist"><ul><li>Shape</li><li>Size</li></ul></div></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">e</span>  <a href="/wiki/Orbital_eccentricity" title="Orbital eccentricity">Eccentricity</a></li> <li><span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">a</span>  <a href="/wiki/Semi-major_and_semi-minor_axes" title="Semi-major and semi-minor axes">Semi-major axis</a></li> <li><span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">b</span>  <a href="/wiki/Semi-major_and_semi-minor_axes" title="Semi-major and semi-minor axes">Semi-minor axis</a></li> <li><span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">Q</span>, <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">q</span>  <a href="/wiki/Apsis" title="Apsis">Apsides</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:6em">Orientation</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">i</span>  <a href="/wiki/Orbital_inclination" title="Orbital inclination">Inclination</a></li> <li><span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">Ω</span>  <a href="/wiki/Longitude_of_the_ascending_node" title="Longitude of the ascending node">Longitude of the ascending node</a></li> <li><span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">ω</span>  <a href="/wiki/Argument_of_periapsis" title="Argument of periapsis">Argument of periapsis</a></li> <li><span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">ϖ</span>  <a href="/wiki/Longitude_of_the_periapsis" class="mw-redirect" title="Longitude of the periapsis">Longitude of the periapsis</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:6em">Position</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">M</span>  <a href="/wiki/Mean_anomaly" title="Mean anomaly">Mean anomaly</a></li> <li><span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">ν</span>, <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">θ</span>, <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">f</span>  <a href="/wiki/True_anomaly" title="True anomaly">True anomaly</a></li> <li><span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">E</span>  <a href="/wiki/Eccentric_anomaly" title="Eccentric anomaly">Eccentric anomaly</a></li> <li><span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">L</span>  <a href="/wiki/Mean_longitude" title="Mean longitude">Mean longitude</a></li> <li><span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">l</span>  <a href="/wiki/True_longitude" title="True longitude">True longitude</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:6em">Variation</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">T</span>  <a href="/wiki/Orbital_period" title="Orbital period">Orbital period</a></li> <li><span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">n</span>  <a href="/wiki/Mean_motion" title="Mean motion">Mean motion</a></li> <li><span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">v</span>  <a href="/wiki/Orbital_speed" title="Orbital speed">Orbital speed</a></li> <li><span class="texhtml"><i>t</i><sub>0</sub></span>  <a href="/wiki/Epoch_(astronomy)" title="Epoch (astronomy)">Epoch</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Orbital_maneuver" title="Orbital maneuver">Maneuvers</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Bi-elliptic_transfer" title="Bi-elliptic transfer">Bi-elliptic transfer</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Collision_avoidance_(spacecraft)" title="Collision avoidance (spacecraft)">Collision avoidance (spacecraft)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Delta-v" title="Delta-v">Delta-v</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Delta-v_budget" title="Delta-v budget">Delta-v budget</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gravity_assist" title="Gravity assist">Gravity assist</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gravity_turn" title="Gravity turn">Gravity turn</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hohmann_transfer_orbit" title="Hohmann transfer orbit">Hohmann transfer</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Orbital_inclination_change" title="Orbital inclination change">Inclination change</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Low-energy_transfer" title="Low-energy transfer">Low-energy transfer</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Oberth_effect" title="Oberth effect">Oberth effect</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Orbit_phasing" title="Orbit phasing">Phasing</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tsiolkovsky_rocket_equation" title="Tsiolkovsky rocket equation">Rocket equation</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Space_rendezvous" title="Space rendezvous">Rendezvous</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Trans-lunar_injection" title="Trans-lunar injection">Trans-lunar injection</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Transposition,_docking,_and_extraction" title="Transposition, docking, and extraction">Transposition, docking, and extraction</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Orbital_mechanics" title="Orbital mechanics">Orbital<br />mechanics</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Astronomical_coordinate_systems" title="Astronomical coordinate systems">Astronomical coordinate systems</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Characteristic_energy" title="Characteristic energy">Characteristic energy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Escape_velocity" title="Escape velocity">Escape velocity</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ephemeris" title="Ephemeris">Ephemeris</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Equatorial_coordinate_system" title="Equatorial coordinate system">Equatorial coordinate system</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ground_track" class="mw-redirect" title="Ground track">Ground track</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hill_sphere" title="Hill sphere">Hill sphere</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Interplanetary_Transport_Network" title="Interplanetary Transport Network">Interplanetary Transport Network</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kepler%27s_laws_of_planetary_motion" title="Kepler's laws of planetary motion">Kepler's laws of planetary motion</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kozai_mechanism" title="Kozai mechanism">Kozai mechanism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lagrange_point" title="Lagrange point">Lagrangian point</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/N-body_problem" title="N-body problem"><i>n</i>-body problem</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Orbit_equation" title="Orbit equation">Orbit equation</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Orbital_state_vectors" title="Orbital state vectors">Orbital state vectors</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Perturbation_(astronomy)" title="Perturbation (astronomy)">Perturbation</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Retrograde_and_prograde_motion" title="Retrograde and prograde motion">Retrograde and prograde motion</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Specific_orbital_energy" title="Specific orbital energy">Specific orbital energy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Specific_angular_momentum" title="Specific angular momentum">Specific angular momentum</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Two-line_element_set" title="Two-line element set">Two-line elements</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><td class="navbox-abovebelow" colspan="2"><div> <ul><li><span class="noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><span title="List-Class article"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/d/db/Symbol_list_class.svg/16px-Symbol_list_class.svg.png" decoding="async" width="16" height="16" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/d/db/Symbol_list_class.svg/23px-Symbol_list_class.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/d/db/Symbol_list_class.svg/31px-Symbol_list_class.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="180" data-file-height="185" /></span></span> <a href="/wiki/List_of_orbits" title="List of orbits">List of orbits</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table></div> <div class="navbox-styles"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236075235"></div><div role="navigation" class="navbox" aria-labelledby="People_currently_in_low_Earth_orbit865" style="padding:3px"><table class="nowraplinks hlist mw-collapsible autocollapse navbox-inner" style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><th scope="col" class="navbox-title" colspan="2"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link 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Station">International Space Station</a><br />(<a href="/wiki/Expedition_72" title="Expedition 72">Expedition 72</a>)</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0"><tbody><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Soyuz_MS-26" title="Soyuz MS-26">Soyuz MS-26</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/Russia" title="Russia"><img alt="Russia" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/f3/Flag_of_Russia.svg/15px-Flag_of_Russia.svg.png" decoding="async" width="15" height="10" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/f3/Flag_of_Russia.svg/23px-Flag_of_Russia.svg.png 1.5x, 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srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Flag_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China.svg/23px-Flag_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Flag_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China.svg/30px-Flag_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="900" data-file-height="600" /></a></span></span> <a href="/wiki/Cai_Xuzhe" title="Cai Xuzhe">Cai Xuzhe</a></li> <li><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/China" title="China"><img alt="China" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Flag_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China.svg/15px-Flag_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China.svg.png" decoding="async" width="15" height="10" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Flag_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China.svg/23px-Flag_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Flag_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China.svg/30px-Flag_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="900" data-file-height="600" /></a></span></span> <a href="/wiki/Song_Lingdong" title="Song Lingdong">Song Lingdong</a></li> <li><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/China" title="China"><img alt="China" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Flag_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China.svg/15px-Flag_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China.svg.png" decoding="async" width="15" height="10" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Flag_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China.svg/23px-Flag_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Flag_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China.svg/30px-Flag_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="900" 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