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<h1 id="firstHeading" class="firstHeading mw-first-heading"><span class="mw-page-title-main">Sun-synchronous 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 30 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-30" 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">30 languages</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ar mw-list-item"><a href="https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%85%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%B1_%D9%85%D8%AA%D8%B2%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%86_%D9%85%D8%B9_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D9%85%D8%B3" title="مدار متزامن مع الشمس – Arabic" lang="ar" hreflang="ar" data-title="مدار متزامن مع الشمس" data-language-autonym="العربية" data-language-local-name="Arabic" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>العربية</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-be mw-list-item"><a href="https://be.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A1%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%B5%D1%87%D0%BD%D0%B0-%D1%81%D1%96%D0%BD%D1%85%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%8F_%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B1%D1%96%D1%82%D0%B0" title="Сонечна-сінхронная арбіта – Belarusian" lang="be" hreflang="be" data-title="Сонечна-сінхронная 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%A1%D0%BB%D1%8A%D0%BD%D1%87%D0%B5%D0%B2%D0%BE-%D1%81%D0%B8%D0%BD%D1%85%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B7%D0%B8%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BD%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="Слънчево-синхронизирана околоземна орбита – Bulgarian" lang="bg" hreflang="bg" data-title="Слънчево-синхронизирана 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_helios%C3%ADncrona" title="Òrbita heliosíncrona – Catalan" lang="ca" hreflang="ca" data-title="Òrbita heliosíncrona" 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/Heliosynchronn%C3%AD_dr%C3%A1ha" title="Heliosynchronní dráha – Czech" lang="cs" hreflang="cs" data-title="Heliosynchronní dráha" data-language-autonym="Čeština" data-language-local-name="Czech" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Čeština</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-de mw-list-item"><a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonnensynchrone_Umlaufbahn" title="Sonnensynchrone Umlaufbahn – German" lang="de" hreflang="de" data-title="Sonnensynchrone Umlaufbahn" data-language-autonym="Deutsch" data-language-local-name="German" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Deutsch</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-es mw-list-item"><a href="https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%93rbita_helios%C3%ADncrona" title="Órbita heliosíncrona – Spanish" lang="es" hreflang="es" data-title="Órbita heliosíncrona" data-language-autonym="Español" data-language-local-name="Spanish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Español</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_%D8%AE%D9%88%D8%B1%D8%B4%DB%8C%D8%AF%D9%87%D9%85%DA%AF%D8%A7%D9%85" title="مدار خورشیدهمگام – Persian" lang="fa" hreflang="fa" data-title="مدار خورشیدهمگام" 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_h%C3%A9liosynchrone" title="Orbite héliosynchrone – French" lang="fr" hreflang="fr" data-title="Orbite héliosynchrone" data-language-autonym="Français" data-language-local-name="French" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Français</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-gl mw-list-item"><a href="https://gl.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%93rbita_helios%C3%ADncrona" title="Órbita heliosíncrona – Galician" lang="gl" hreflang="gl" data-title="Órbita heliosíncrona" 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/%ED%83%9C%EC%96%91_%EB%8F%99%EA%B8%B0_%EA%B6%A4%EB%8F%84" title="태양 동기 궤도 – Korean" lang="ko" hreflang="ko" data-title="태양 동기 궤도" 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/%D4%B1%D6%80%D6%87%D5%A1%D5%BD%D5%AB%D5%B6%D6%84%D6%80%D5%B8%D5%B6_%D5%B8%D6%82%D5%B2%D5%A5%D5%AE%D5%AB%D6%80" title="Արևասինքրոն ուղեծիր – Armenian" lang="hy" hreflang="hy" data-title="Արևասինքրոն 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%B8%E0%A5%82%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AF_%E0%A4%A4%E0%A5%81%E0%A4%B2%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%95%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%B2%E0%A5%80_%E0%A4%95%E0%A4%95%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B7%E0%A4%BE" title="सूर्य तुल्यकाली कक्षा – Hindi" lang="hi" hreflang="hi" data-title="सूर्य तुल्यकाली कक्षा" data-language-autonym="हिन्दी" data-language-local-name="Hindi" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>हिन्दी</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-id mw-list-item"><a href="https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbit_sinkron_matahari" title="Orbit sinkron matahari – Indonesian" lang="id" hreflang="id" data-title="Orbit sinkron matahari" 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_eliosincrona" title="Orbita eliosincrona – Italian" lang="it" hreflang="it" data-title="Orbita eliosincrona" 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%9E%D7%A1%D7%95%D7%A0%D7%9B%D7%A8%D7%9F-%D7%A9%D7%9E%D7%A9" title="מסלול מסונכרן-שמש – Hebrew" lang="he" hreflang="he" data-title="מסלול מסונכרן-שמש" data-language-autonym="עברית" data-language-local-name="Hebrew" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>עברית</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hu mw-list-item"><a href="https://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napszinkron_p%C3%A1lya" title="Napszinkron pálya – Hungarian" lang="hu" hreflang="hu" data-title="Napszinkron pálya" data-language-autonym="Magyar" data-language-local-name="Hungarian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Magyar</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ja mw-list-item"><a href="https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%A4%AA%E9%99%BD%E5%90%8C%E6%9C%9F%E8%BB%8C%E9%81%93" title="太陽同期軌道 – Japanese" lang="ja" hreflang="ja" data-title="太陽同期軌道" 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-nn mw-list-item"><a href="https://nn.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solsynkron_bane" title="Solsynkron bane – Norwegian Nynorsk" lang="nn" hreflang="nn" data-title="Solsynkron bane" 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-pl mw-list-item"><a href="https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbita_heliosynchroniczna" title="Orbita heliosynchroniczna – Polish" lang="pl" hreflang="pl" data-title="Orbita heliosynchroniczna" 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_helioss%C3%ADncrona" title="Órbita heliossíncrona – Portuguese" lang="pt" hreflang="pt" data-title="Órbita heliossíncrona" data-language-autonym="Português" data-language-local-name="Portuguese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Português</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ru mw-list-item"><a href="https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A1%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%BD%D0%B5%D1%87%D0%BD%D0%BE-%D1%81%D0%B8%D0%BD%D1%85%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%8F_%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B1%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B0" title="Солнечно-синхронная орбита – Russian" lang="ru" hreflang="ru" data-title="Солнечно-синхронная орбита" data-language-autonym="Русский" data-language-local-name="Russian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Русский</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sk mw-list-item"><a href="https://sk.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heliosynchr%C3%B3nna_obe%C5%BEn%C3%A1_dr%C3%A1ha" title="Heliosynchrónna obežná dráha – Slovak" lang="sk" hreflang="sk" data-title="Heliosynchrónna obežná dráha" data-language-autonym="Slovenčina" data-language-local-name="Slovak" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Slovenčina</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sr mw-list-item"><a href="https://sr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A5%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%BE%D1%81%D0%B8%D0%BD%D1%85%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%B0_%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B1%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B0" title="Хелиосинхрона орбита – Serbian" lang="sr" hreflang="sr" data-title="Хелиосинхрона 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-fi mw-list-item"><a href="https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurinkosynkroninen_kiertorata" title="Aurinkosynkroninen kiertorata – Finnish" lang="fi" hreflang="fi" data-title="Aurinkosynkroninen 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/Solsynkron_bana" title="Solsynkron bana – Swedish" lang="sv" hreflang="sv" data-title="Solsynkron bana" 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%9A%E0%AF%82%E0%AE%B0%E0%AE%BF%E0%AE%AF_%E0%AE%92%E0%AE%A4%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%A4%E0%AE%BF%E0%AE%AF%E0%AE%99%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%95%E0%AF%81%E0%AE%AE%E0%AF%8D_%E0%AE%B5%E0%AE%9F%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%9F%E0%AE%A3%E0%AF%88" title="சூரிய ஒத்தியங்கும் வட்டணை – Tamil" lang="ta" hreflang="ta" data-title="சூரிய ஒத்தியங்கும் வட்டணை" data-language-autonym="தமிழ்" data-language-local-name="Tamil" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>தமிழ்</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-tr mw-list-item"><a href="https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%BCne%C5%9F_e%C5%9Fzamanl%C4%B1_y%C3%B6r%C3%BCnge" title="Güneş eşzamanlı yörünge – Turkish" lang="tr" hreflang="tr" data-title="Güneş eşzamanlı yörünge" 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%A1%D0%BE%D0%BD%D1%8F%D1%87%D0%BD%D0%BE-%D1%81%D0%B8%D0%BD%D1%85%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%BD%D0%B0_%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B1%D1%96%D1%82%D0%B0" title="Сонячно-синхронна орбіта – Ukrainian" lang="uk" hreflang="uk" data-title="Сонячно-синхронна орбіта" data-language-autonym="Українська" data-language-local-name="Ukrainian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Українська</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-zh mw-list-item"><a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%A4%AA%E9%98%B3%E5%90%8C%E6%AD%A5%E8%BD%A8%E9%81%93" title="太阳同步轨道 – Chinese" lang="zh" hreflang="zh" data-title="太阳同步轨道" data-language-autonym="中文" data-language-local-name="Chinese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>中文</span></a></li> </ul> <div class="after-portlet after-portlet-lang"><span class="wb-langlinks-edit wb-langlinks-link"><a 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searchaux" style="display:none">Type of geocentric orbit</div> <p class="mw-empty-elt"> </p> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Heliosynchronous_orbit.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/79/Heliosynchronous_orbit.svg/220px-Heliosynchronous_orbit.svg.png" decoding="async" width="220" height="220" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/79/Heliosynchronous_orbit.svg/330px-Heliosynchronous_orbit.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/79/Heliosynchronous_orbit.svg/440px-Heliosynchronous_orbit.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="800" data-file-height="800" /></a><figcaption>Diagram showing the orientation of a Sun-synchronous orbit (green) at four points in the year. A non-Sun-synchronous orbit (magenta) is also shown for reference. Dates are shown in white: day/month.</figcaption></figure> <p>A <b>Sun-synchronous orbit</b> (<b>SSO</b>), also called a <b>heliosynchronous orbit</b>,<sup id="cite_ref-shcherbakova_1-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-shcherbakova-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> is a nearly <a href="/wiki/Polar_orbit" title="Polar orbit">polar orbit</a> around a planet, in which the satellite passes over any given point of the planet's surface at the same local <a href="/wiki/Mean_solar_time" class="mw-redirect" title="Mean solar time">mean solar time</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> More technically, it is an orbit arranged so that it <a href="/wiki/Precession" title="Precession">precesses</a> through one complete revolution each year, so it always maintains the same relationship with the Sun. </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Applications">Applications</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Sun-synchronous_orbit&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Applications"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>A Sun-synchronous orbit is useful for <a href="/wiki/Imaging_satellite" class="mw-redirect" title="Imaging satellite">imaging</a>, <a href="/wiki/Reconnaissance_satellite" title="Reconnaissance satellite">reconnaissance</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Weather_satellite" title="Weather satellite">weather satellites</a>,<sup id="cite_ref-:0_4-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-:0-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> because every time that the satellite is overhead, the surface <a href="/wiki/Illumination_angle" class="mw-redirect" title="Illumination angle">illumination angle</a> on the planet underneath it is nearly the same. This consistent lighting is a useful characteristic for <a href="/wiki/Satellite" title="Satellite">satellites</a> that image the Earth's surface in visible or <a href="/wiki/Infrared" title="Infrared">infrared</a> wavelengths, such as weather and spy satellites, and for other remote-sensing satellites, such as those carrying ocean and atmospheric remote-sensing instruments that require sunlight. For example, a satellite in Sun-synchronous orbit might ascend across the equator twelve times a day, each time at approximately 15:00 mean local time. </p> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Sun-Synchronous_Orbit_with_LST_Zones.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/25/Sun-Synchronous_Orbit_with_LST_Zones.svg/330px-Sun-Synchronous_Orbit_with_LST_Zones.svg.png" decoding="async" width="330" height="195" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/25/Sun-Synchronous_Orbit_with_LST_Zones.svg/495px-Sun-Synchronous_Orbit_with_LST_Zones.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/25/Sun-Synchronous_Orbit_with_LST_Zones.svg/660px-Sun-Synchronous_Orbit_with_LST_Zones.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="512" data-file-height="302" /></a><figcaption>Sun-synchronous orbit from a top view of the <a href="/wiki/Ecliptic" title="Ecliptic">ecliptic plane</a> with <a href="/wiki/Solar_time" title="Solar time">local solar time</a> (LST) zones for reference and a <a href="/wiki/Orbital_node" title="Orbital node">descending node</a> of 10:30. The LST zones show how the local time beneath the satellite varies at different latitudes and different points on its orbit.</figcaption></figure> <p>Special cases of the Sun-synchronous orbit are the <b>noon/midnight orbit</b>, where the local mean solar time of passage for equatorial latitudes is around noon or midnight, and the <b>dawn/dusk orbit</b>, where the local mean solar time of passage for equatorial latitudes is around sunrise or sunset, so that the satellite rides the <a href="/wiki/Terminator_(solar)" title="Terminator (solar)">terminator</a> between day and night. Riding the terminator is useful for active radar satellites, as the satellites' solar panels can always see the Sun, without being shadowed by the Earth. It is also useful for some satellites with passive instruments that need to limit the Sun's influence on the measurements, as it is possible to always point the instruments towards the night side of the Earth. The dawn/dusk orbit has been used for solar-observing <a href="/wiki/Scientific_satellites" class="mw-redirect" title="Scientific satellites">scientific satellites</a> such as <a href="/wiki/TRACE" title="TRACE">TRACE</a>, <a href="/wiki/Hinode_(satellite)" title="Hinode (satellite)">Hinode</a> and <a href="/wiki/PROBA-2" title="PROBA-2">PROBA-2</a>, affording them a nearly continuous view of the Sun. </p> <ul class="gallery mw-gallery-traditional"> <li class="gallerybox" style="width: 435px"> <div class="thumb" style="width: 430px; height: 150px;"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Orbit_path_-_Aqua_ascending_-_day.png" class="mw-file-description" title="As of 2021 Aqua's ascending orbital path crosses equator at 13:30 local time"><img alt="As of 2021 Aqua's ascending orbital path crosses equator at 13:30 local time" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d0/Orbit_path_-_Aqua_ascending_-_day.png/400px-Orbit_path_-_Aqua_ascending_-_day.png" decoding="async" width="400" height="117" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d0/Orbit_path_-_Aqua_ascending_-_day.png/600px-Orbit_path_-_Aqua_ascending_-_day.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d0/Orbit_path_-_Aqua_ascending_-_day.png/800px-Orbit_path_-_Aqua_ascending_-_day.png 2x" data-file-width="1060" data-file-height="310" /></a></span></div> <div class="gallerytext">As of 2021 <a href="/wiki/Aqua_(satellite)" title="Aqua (satellite)">Aqua</a>'s ascending orbital path crosses equator at 13:30 local time</div> </li> <li class="gallerybox" style="width: 435px"> <div class="thumb" style="width: 430px; height: 150px;"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Orbit_path_-_Aqua_descending_-_night.png" class="mw-file-description" title="As 2021 of Aqua's descending orbital path crosses equator at 01:30 local time"><img alt="As 2021 of Aqua's descending orbital path crosses equator at 01:30 local time" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e1/Orbit_path_-_Aqua_descending_-_night.png/400px-Orbit_path_-_Aqua_descending_-_night.png" decoding="async" width="400" height="117" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e1/Orbit_path_-_Aqua_descending_-_night.png/600px-Orbit_path_-_Aqua_descending_-_night.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e1/Orbit_path_-_Aqua_descending_-_night.png/800px-Orbit_path_-_Aqua_descending_-_night.png 2x" data-file-width="1060" data-file-height="310" /></a></span></div> <div class="gallerytext">As 2021 of Aqua's descending orbital path crosses equator at 01:30 local time</div> </li> </ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Orbital_precession">Orbital precession</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Sun-synchronous_orbit&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Orbital precession"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>A Sun-synchronous orbit is achieved by having the <a href="/wiki/Osculating_orbit" title="Osculating orbit">osculating</a> orbital plane <a href="/wiki/Nodal_precession" title="Nodal precession">precess</a> (rotate) approximately one degree eastward each day with respect to the <a href="/wiki/Celestial_sphere" title="Celestial sphere">celestial sphere</a> to keep pace with the Earth's movement around the <a href="/wiki/Sun" title="Sun">Sun</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-me_5-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-me-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> This precession is achieved by tuning the inclination to the altitude of the orbit (see <a href="#Technical_details">Technical details</a>) such that Earth's <a href="/wiki/Equatorial_bulge" title="Equatorial bulge">equatorial bulge</a>, which perturbs inclined orbits, causes the orbital plane of the spacecraft to precess with the desired rate. The plane of the orbit is not fixed in space relative to the distant stars, but rotates slowly about the Earth's axis. </p><p>Typical Sun-synchronous orbits around Earth are about 600–800 km (370–500 mi) in altitude, with periods in the 96–100-<a href="/wiki/Minute" title="Minute">minute</a> range, and inclinations of around 98°. This is slightly <a href="/wiki/Retrograde_motion" class="mw-redirect" title="Retrograde motion">retrograde</a> compared to the direction of Earth's rotation: 0° represents an equatorial orbit, and 90° represents a polar orbit.<sup id="cite_ref-me_5-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-me-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Sun-synchronous orbits are possible around other <a href="/wiki/Oblate_spheroid" class="mw-redirect" title="Oblate spheroid">oblate</a> planets, such as <a href="/wiki/Mars" title="Mars">Mars</a>. A satellite orbiting a planet such as <a href="/wiki/Venus" title="Venus">Venus</a> that is almost spherical will need an outside push to maintain a Sun-synchronous orbit. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Technical_details">Technical details</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Sun-synchronous_orbit&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Technical details"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The angular <a href="/wiki/Nodal_precession" title="Nodal precession">precession</a> per orbit for an Earth orbiting satellite is approximately given by </p> <dl><dd><span class="mwe-math-element"><span class="mwe-math-mathml-inline mwe-math-mathml-a11y" style="display: none;"><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="{\displaystyle \Delta \Omega =-3\pi {\frac {J_{2}R_{\text{E}}^{2}}{p^{2}}}\cos i,}"> <semantics> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mstyle displaystyle="true" scriptlevel="0"> <mi mathvariant="normal">Δ</mi> <mi mathvariant="normal">Ω</mi> <mo>=</mo> <mo>−</mo> <mn>3</mn> <mi>π</mi> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mfrac> <mrow> <msub> <mi>J</mi> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mn>2</mn> </mrow> </msub> <msubsup> <mi>R</mi> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mtext>E</mtext> </mrow> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mn>2</mn> </mrow> </msubsup> </mrow> <msup> <mi>p</mi> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mn>2</mn> </mrow> </msup> </mfrac> </mrow> <mi>cos</mi> <mo>⁡</mo> <mi>i</mi> <mo>,</mo> </mstyle> </mrow> <annotation encoding="application/x-tex">{\displaystyle \Delta \Omega =-3\pi {\frac {J_{2}R_{\text{E}}^{2}}{p^{2}}}\cos i,}</annotation> </semantics> </math></span><img src="https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/media/math/render/svg/73601cf4b48d59ae03eda8f0d694f48aad000ef1" class="mwe-math-fallback-image-inline mw-invert skin-invert" aria-hidden="true" style="vertical-align: -2.505ex; width:22.646ex; height:6.676ex;" alt="{\displaystyle \Delta \Omega =-3\pi {\frac {J_{2}R_{\text{E}}^{2}}{p^{2}}}\cos i,}"></span></dd></dl> <p>where </p> <dl><dd><span class="texhtml"><i>J</i><sub>2</sub> = <span class="nowrap"><span data-sort-value="6997108263000000000♠"></span>1.082<span style="margin-left:.25em;">63</span><span style="margin-left:0.25em;margin-right:0.15em;">×</span>10<sup>−3</sup></span></span> is the <a href="/wiki/Geopotential_model" class="mw-redirect" title="Geopotential model">coefficient for the second zonal term</a> related to the <a href="/wiki/Oblateness" class="mw-redirect" title="Oblateness">oblateness</a> of the Earth,</dd> <dd><span class="texhtml"><i>R</i><sub>E</sub> ≈ 6378 km</span> is the mean radius of the Earth,</dd> <dd><span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">p</span> is the <a href="/wiki/Conic_section#Conic_parameters" title="Conic section">semi-latus rectum</a> of the orbit,</dd> <dd><span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">i</span> is the inclination of the orbit to the equator.</dd></dl> <p>An orbit will be Sun-synchronous when the precession rate <span class="texhtml"><i>ρ</i> = <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1214402035">.mw-parser-output .sfrac{white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output .sfrac.tion,.mw-parser-output .sfrac .tion{display:inline-block;vertical-align:-0.5em;font-size:85%;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .sfrac .num{display:block;line-height:1em;margin:0.0em 0.1em;border-bottom:1px solid}.mw-parser-output .sfrac .den{display:block;line-height:1em;margin:0.1em 0.1em}.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);clip-path:polygon(0px 0px,0px 0px,0px 0px);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px}</style><span class="sfrac">⁠<span class="tion"><span class="num">d<i>Ω</i></span><span class="sr-only">/</span><span class="den">d<i>t</i></span></span>⁠</span> </span> equals the mean motion of the Earth about the Sun <span class="texhtml"><i>n</i><sub>E</sub></span>, which is 360° per <a href="/wiki/Sidereal_year" title="Sidereal year">sidereal year</a> (<span class="nowrap"><span data-sort-value="6993199096870999999♠"></span>1.990<span style="margin-left:.25em;">968</span><span style="margin-left:.25em;">71</span><span style="margin-left:0.25em;margin-right:0.15em;">×</span>10<sup>−7</sup> <a href="/wiki/Radian" title="Radian">rad</a>/s</span>), so we must set <span class="texhtml"> <i>n</i><sub>E</sub> = <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1214402035"><span class="sfrac">⁠<span class="tion"><span class="num">Δ<i>Ω</i><sub>E</sub></span><span class="sr-only">/</span><span class="den"><i>T</i><sub>E</sub></span></span>⁠</span> = <i>ρ</i> = <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1214402035"><span class="sfrac">⁠<span class="tion"><span class="num">Δ<i>Ω</i></span><span class="sr-only">/</span><span class="den"><i>T</i></span></span>⁠</span> </span>, where <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">T<sub>E</sub></span> is the earth orbital period while <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">T</span> is the period of the spacecraft around the earth. </p><p>As the orbital period of a spacecraft is </p> <dl><dd><span class="mwe-math-element"><span class="mwe-math-mathml-inline mwe-math-mathml-a11y" style="display: none;"><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="{\displaystyle T=2\pi {\sqrt {\frac {a^{3}}{\mu }}},}"> <semantics> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mstyle displaystyle="true" scriptlevel="0"> <mi>T</mi> <mo>=</mo> <mn>2</mn> <mi>π</mi> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <msqrt> <mfrac> <msup> <mi>a</mi> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mn>3</mn> </mrow> </msup> <mi>μ</mi> </mfrac> </msqrt> </mrow> <mo>,</mo> </mstyle> </mrow> <annotation encoding="application/x-tex">{\displaystyle T=2\pi {\sqrt {\frac {a^{3}}{\mu }}},}</annotation> </semantics> </math></span><img src="https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/media/math/render/svg/e563bb9968d8428b2747af41f3c1a2f1815a3b6f" class="mwe-math-fallback-image-inline mw-invert skin-invert" aria-hidden="true" style="vertical-align: -3.171ex; width:13.32ex; height:7.676ex;" alt="{\displaystyle T=2\pi {\sqrt {\frac {a^{3}}{\mu }}},}"></span></dd></dl> <p>where <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">a</span> is the <a href="/wiki/Semi-major_axis" class="mw-redirect" title="Semi-major axis">semi-major axis</a> of the orbit, and <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">μ</span> is the <a href="/wiki/Standard_gravitational_parameter" title="Standard gravitational parameter">standard gravitational parameter</a> of the planet (<span class="nowrap"><span data-sort-value="7005398600440000000♠"></span>398<span style="margin-left:.25em;">600</span>.440 km<sup>3</sup>/s<sup>2</sup></span> for Earth); as <span class="texhtml"><i>p</i> ≈ <i>a</i></span> for a circular or almost circular orbit, it follows that </p> <dl><dd><span class="mwe-math-element"><span class="mwe-math-mathml-inline mwe-math-mathml-a11y" style="display: none;"><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="{\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}\rho &\approx -{\frac {3J_{2}R_{\text{E}}^{2}{\sqrt {\mu }}\cos i}{2a^{7/2}}}\\&=-(360^{\circ }{\text{ per year}})\times \left({\frac {a}{12\,352{\text{ km}}}}\right)^{-7/2}\cos i\\&=-(360^{\circ }{\text{ per year}})\times \left({\frac {T}{3.795{\text{ h}}}}\right)^{-7/3}\cos i,\end{aligned}}}"> <semantics> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mstyle displaystyle="true" scriptlevel="0"> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mtable columnalign="right left right left right left right left right left right left" rowspacing="3pt" columnspacing="0em 2em 0em 2em 0em 2em 0em 2em 0em 2em 0em" displaystyle="true"> <mtr> <mtd> <mi>ρ</mi> </mtd> <mtd> <mi></mi> <mo>≈</mo> <mo>−</mo> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mfrac> <mrow> <mn>3</mn> <msub> <mi>J</mi> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mn>2</mn> </mrow> </msub> <msubsup> <mi>R</mi> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mtext>E</mtext> </mrow> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mn>2</mn> </mrow> </msubsup> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <msqrt> <mi>μ</mi> </msqrt> </mrow> <mi>cos</mi> <mo>⁡</mo> <mi>i</mi> </mrow> <mrow> <mn>2</mn> <msup> <mi>a</mi> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mn>7</mn> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mo>/</mo> </mrow> <mn>2</mn> </mrow> </msup> </mrow> </mfrac> </mrow> </mtd> </mtr> <mtr> <mtd /> <mtd> <mi></mi> <mo>=</mo> <mo>−</mo> <mo stretchy="false">(</mo> <msup> <mn>360</mn> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mo>∘</mo> </mrow> </msup> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mtext> per year</mtext> </mrow> <mo stretchy="false">)</mo> <mo>×</mo> <msup> <mrow> <mo>(</mo> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mfrac> <mi>a</mi> <mrow> <mn>12</mn> <mspace width="thinmathspace" /> <mn>352</mn> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mtext> km</mtext> </mrow> </mrow> </mfrac> </mrow> <mo>)</mo> </mrow> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mo>−</mo> <mn>7</mn> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mo>/</mo> </mrow> <mn>2</mn> </mrow> </msup> <mi>cos</mi> <mo>⁡</mo> <mi>i</mi> </mtd> </mtr> <mtr> <mtd /> <mtd> <mi></mi> <mo>=</mo> <mo>−</mo> <mo stretchy="false">(</mo> <msup> <mn>360</mn> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mo>∘</mo> </mrow> </msup> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mtext> per year</mtext> </mrow> <mo stretchy="false">)</mo> <mo>×</mo> <msup> <mrow> <mo>(</mo> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mfrac> <mi>T</mi> <mrow> <mn>3.795</mn> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mtext> h</mtext> </mrow> </mrow> </mfrac> </mrow> <mo>)</mo> </mrow> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mo>−</mo> <mn>7</mn> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mo>/</mo> </mrow> <mn>3</mn> </mrow> </msup> <mi>cos</mi> <mo>⁡</mo> <mi>i</mi> <mo>,</mo> </mtd> </mtr> </mtable> </mrow> </mstyle> </mrow> <annotation encoding="application/x-tex">{\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}\rho &\approx -{\frac {3J_{2}R_{\text{E}}^{2}{\sqrt {\mu }}\cos i}{2a^{7/2}}}\\&=-(360^{\circ }{\text{ per year}})\times \left({\frac {a}{12\,352{\text{ km}}}}\right)^{-7/2}\cos i\\&=-(360^{\circ }{\text{ per year}})\times \left({\frac {T}{3.795{\text{ h}}}}\right)^{-7/3}\cos i,\end{aligned}}}</annotation> </semantics> </math></span><img src="https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/media/math/render/svg/67ddbd64e782f49e8bed8a0d7abb26253cbc120e" class="mwe-math-fallback-image-inline mw-invert skin-invert" aria-hidden="true" style="vertical-align: -9.005ex; width:47.003ex; height:19.176ex;" alt="{\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}\rho &\approx -{\frac {3J_{2}R_{\text{E}}^{2}{\sqrt {\mu }}\cos i}{2a^{7/2}}}\\&=-(360^{\circ }{\text{ per year}})\times \left({\frac {a}{12\,352{\text{ km}}}}\right)^{-7/2}\cos i\\&=-(360^{\circ }{\text{ per year}})\times \left({\frac {T}{3.795{\text{ h}}}}\right)^{-7/3}\cos i,\end{aligned}}}"></span></dd></dl> <p>or when <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">ρ</span> is 360° per year, </p> <dl><dd><span class="mwe-math-element"><span class="mwe-math-mathml-inline mwe-math-mathml-a11y" style="display: none;"><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="{\displaystyle \cos i\approx -{\frac {2\rho }{3J_{2}R_{\text{E}}^{2}{\sqrt {\mu }}}}a^{7/2}=-\left({\frac {a}{12\,352{\text{ km}}}}\right)^{7/2}=-\left({\frac {T}{3.795{\text{ h}}}}\right)^{7/3}.}"> <semantics> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mstyle displaystyle="true" scriptlevel="0"> <mi>cos</mi> <mo>⁡</mo> <mi>i</mi> <mo>≈</mo> <mo>−</mo> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mfrac> <mrow> <mn>2</mn> <mi>ρ</mi> </mrow> <mrow> <mn>3</mn> <msub> <mi>J</mi> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mn>2</mn> </mrow> </msub> <msubsup> <mi>R</mi> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mtext>E</mtext> </mrow> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mn>2</mn> </mrow> </msubsup> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <msqrt> <mi>μ</mi> </msqrt> </mrow> </mrow> </mfrac> </mrow> <msup> <mi>a</mi> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mn>7</mn> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mo>/</mo> </mrow> <mn>2</mn> </mrow> </msup> <mo>=</mo> <mo>−</mo> <msup> <mrow> <mo>(</mo> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mfrac> <mi>a</mi> <mrow> <mn>12</mn> <mspace width="thinmathspace" /> <mn>352</mn> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mtext> km</mtext> </mrow> </mrow> </mfrac> </mrow> <mo>)</mo> </mrow> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mn>7</mn> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mo>/</mo> </mrow> <mn>2</mn> </mrow> </msup> <mo>=</mo> <mo>−</mo> <msup> <mrow> <mo>(</mo> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mfrac> <mi>T</mi> <mrow> <mn>3.795</mn> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mtext> h</mtext> </mrow> </mrow> </mfrac> </mrow> <mo>)</mo> </mrow> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mn>7</mn> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mo>/</mo> </mrow> <mn>3</mn> </mrow> </msup> <mo>.</mo> </mstyle> </mrow> <annotation encoding="application/x-tex">{\displaystyle \cos i\approx -{\frac {2\rho }{3J_{2}R_{\text{E}}^{2}{\sqrt {\mu }}}}a^{7/2}=-\left({\frac {a}{12\,352{\text{ km}}}}\right)^{7/2}=-\left({\frac {T}{3.795{\text{ h}}}}\right)^{7/3}.}</annotation> </semantics> </math></span><img src="https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/media/math/render/svg/e009e1561d15e42d9e9d2d0f4e83620a088bf291" class="mwe-math-fallback-image-inline mw-invert skin-invert" aria-hidden="true" style="vertical-align: -3.005ex; width:64.77ex; height:7.176ex;" alt="{\displaystyle \cos i\approx -{\frac {2\rho }{3J_{2}R_{\text{E}}^{2}{\sqrt {\mu }}}}a^{7/2}=-\left({\frac {a}{12\,352{\text{ km}}}}\right)^{7/2}=-\left({\frac {T}{3.795{\text{ h}}}}\right)^{7/3}.}"></span></dd></dl> <p>As an example, with <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">a</span> = <span class="nowrap"><span data-sort-value="7006720000000000000♠"></span>7200 km</span>, i.e., for an altitude <span class="texhtml"><i>a</i> − <i>R</i><sub>E</sub></span> ≈ <span class="nowrap"><span data-sort-value="7005800000000000000♠"></span>800 km</span> of the spacecraft over Earth's surface, this formula gives a Sun-synchronous inclination of 98.7°. </p><p>Note that according to this approximation <span class="texhtml">cos <i>i</i></span> equals −1 when the semi-major axis equals <span class="nowrap"><span data-sort-value="7007123520000000000♠"></span>12<span style="margin-left:.25em;">352</span> km</span>, which means that only lower orbits can be Sun-synchronous. The period can be in the range from 88 minutes for a very low orbit (<span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">a</span> = <span class="nowrap"><span data-sort-value="7006655400000000000♠"></span>6554 km</span>, <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">i</span> = 96°) to 3.8 hours (<span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">a</span> = <span class="nowrap"><span data-sort-value="7007123520000000000♠"></span>12<span style="margin-left:.25em;">352</span> km</span>, but this orbit would be equatorial, with <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">i</span> = 180°). A period longer than 3.8 hours may be possible by using an eccentric orbit with <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">p</span> < <span class="nowrap"><span data-sort-value="7007123520000000000♠"></span>12<span style="margin-left:.25em;">352</span> km</span> but <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">a</span> > <span class="nowrap"><span data-sort-value="7007123520000000000♠"></span>12<span style="margin-left:.25em;">352</span> km</span>. </p><p>If one wants a satellite to fly over some given spot on Earth every day at the same hour, the satellite must complete a whole number of orbits per day. Assuming a circular orbit, this comes down to between 7 and 16 orbits per day, as doing less than 7 orbits would require an altitude above the maximum for a Sun-synchronous orbit, and doing more than 16 would require an orbit inside the Earth's atmosphere or surface. The resulting valid orbits are shown in the following table. (The table has been calculated assuming the periods given. The orbital period that should be used is actually slightly longer. For instance, a retrograde equatorial orbit that passes over the same spot after 24 hours has a true period about <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1214402035"><span class="sfrac">⁠<span class="tion"><span class="num">365</span><span class="sr-only">/</span><span class="den">364</span></span>⁠</span> ≈ 1.0027 times longer than the time between overpasses. For non-equatorial orbits the factor is closer to 1.) </p> <dl><dd><table class="wikitable" style="text-align:right;"> <tbody><tr> <th>Orbits <br />per day </th> <th colspan="2">Period (<a href="/wiki/Hour" title="Hour">h</a>) </th> <th>Altitude <br />(km) </th> <th>Maximal <br />latitude </th> <th>Inclin-<br />ation </th></tr> <tr> <td>16</td> <td><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1214402035"><span class="sfrac">⁠1<span class="sr-only">+</span><span class="tion"><span class="num">1</span><span class="sr-only">/</span><span class="den">2</span></span>⁠</span></td> <td>= 1:30</td> <td>274</td> <td>83.4°</td> <td>96.6° </td></tr> <tr> <td>15</td> <td><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1214402035"><span class="sfrac">⁠1<span class="sr-only">+</span><span class="tion"><span class="num">3</span><span class="sr-only">/</span><span class="den">5</span></span>⁠</span></td> <td>= 1:36</td> <td>567</td> <td>82.3°</td> <td>97.7° </td></tr> <tr> <td>14</td> <td><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1214402035"><span class="sfrac">⁠1<span class="sr-only">+</span><span class="tion"><span class="num">5</span><span class="sr-only">/</span><span class="den">7</span></span>⁠</span></td> <td>≈ 1:43</td> <td>894</td> <td>81.0°</td> <td>99.0° </td></tr> <tr> <td>13</td> <td><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1214402035"><span class="sfrac">⁠1<span class="sr-only">+</span><span class="tion"><span class="num">11</span><span class="sr-only">/</span><span class="den">13</span></span>⁠</span></td> <td>≈ 1:51</td> <td>1262</td> <td>79.3°</td> <td>100.7° </td></tr> <tr> <td>12</td> <td>2</td> <td></td> <td>1681</td> <td>77.0°</td> <td>103.0° </td></tr> <tr> <td>11</td> <td><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1214402035"><span class="sfrac">⁠2<span class="sr-only">+</span><span class="tion"><span class="num">2</span><span class="sr-only">/</span><span class="den">11</span></span>⁠</span></td> <td>≈ 2:11</td> <td>2162</td> <td>74.0°</td> <td>106.0° </td></tr> <tr> <td>10</td> <td><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1214402035"><span class="sfrac">⁠2<span class="sr-only">+</span><span class="tion"><span class="num">2</span><span class="sr-only">/</span><span class="den">5</span></span>⁠</span></td> <td>= 2:24</td> <td>2722</td> <td>69.9°</td> <td>110.1° </td></tr> <tr> <td>9</td> <td><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1214402035"><span class="sfrac">⁠2<span class="sr-only">+</span><span class="tion"><span class="num">2</span><span class="sr-only">/</span><span class="den">3</span></span>⁠</span></td> <td>= 2:40</td> <td>3385</td> <td>64.0°</td> <td>116.0° </td></tr> <tr> <td>8</td> <td>3</td> <td></td> <td>4182</td> <td>54.7°</td> <td>125.3° </td></tr> <tr> <td>7</td> <td><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1214402035"><span class="sfrac">⁠3<span class="sr-only">+</span><span class="tion"><span class="num">3</span><span class="sr-only">/</span><span class="den">7</span></span>⁠</span></td> <td>≈ 3:26</td> <td>5165</td> <td>37.9°</td> <td>142.1° </td></tr></tbody></table></dd></dl> <p>When one says that a Sun-synchronous orbit goes over a spot on the Earth at the same <i>local time</i> each time, this refers to <a href="/wiki/Mean_solar_time" class="mw-redirect" title="Mean solar time">mean solar time</a>, not to <a href="/wiki/Apparent_solar_time" class="mw-redirect" title="Apparent solar time">apparent solar time</a>. The Sun will not be in exactly the same position in the sky during the course of the year (see <a href="/wiki/Equation_of_time" title="Equation of time">Equation of time</a> and <a href="/wiki/Analemma" title="Analemma">Analemma</a>). </p><p>Sun-synchronous orbits are mostly selected for <a href="/wiki/Earth_observation_satellite" title="Earth observation satellite">Earth observation satellites</a>, with an altitude typically between 600 and <span class="nowrap"><span data-sort-value="7006100000000000000♠"></span>1000 km</span> over the Earth surface. Even if an orbit remains Sun-synchronous, however, other orbital parameters such as <a href="/wiki/Argument_of_periapsis" title="Argument of periapsis">argument of periapsis</a> and the <a href="/wiki/Orbital_eccentricity" title="Orbital eccentricity">orbital eccentricity</a> evolve, due to higher-order perturbations in the Earth's gravitational field, the pressure of sunlight, and other causes. Earth observation satellites, in particular, prefer orbits with constant altitude when passing over the same spot. Careful selection of eccentricity and location of perigee reveals specific combinations where the rate of change of perturbations are minimized, and hence the orbit is relatively stable –  a <a href="/wiki/Frozen_orbit" title="Frozen orbit">frozen orbit</a>, where the motion of position of the periapsis is stable.<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> The <a href="/wiki/European_Remote-Sensing_Satellite" title="European Remote-Sensing Satellite">ERS-1, ERS-2</a> and <a href="/wiki/Envisat" title="Envisat">Envisat</a> of <a href="/wiki/European_Space_Agency" title="European Space Agency">European Space Agency</a>, as well as the <a href="/wiki/MetOp" title="MetOp">MetOp</a> spacecraft of <a href="/wiki/EUMETSAT" title="EUMETSAT">EUMETSAT</a> and <a href="/wiki/Radarsat-2" title="Radarsat-2">RADARSAT-2</a> of the <a href="/wiki/Canadian_Space_Agency" title="Canadian Space Agency">Canadian Space Agency</a>, are all operated in such Sun-synchronous frozen orbits.<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> </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=Sun-synchronous_orbit&action=edit&section=4" 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" style="column-width: 30em;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Orbital_perturbation_analysis_(spacecraft)" class="mw-redirect" title="Orbital perturbation analysis (spacecraft)">Orbital perturbation analysis (spacecraft)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Analemma" title="Analemma">Analemma</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geosynchronous_orbit" title="Geosynchronous orbit">Geosynchronous orbit</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geostationary_orbit" title="Geostationary orbit">Geostationary orbit</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_orbits" title="List of orbits">List of orbits</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Polar_orbit" title="Polar orbit">Polar orbit</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/World_Geodetic_System" title="World Geodetic System">World Geodetic System</a></li></ul> </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=Sun-synchronous_orbit&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: References"><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" style="column-width: 30em;"> <ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-shcherbakova-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-shcherbakova_1-0">^</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 id="CITEREFTscherbakovaBeletskiiSazonov1999" class="citation journal cs1">Tscherbakova, N. 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"Designing a Reference Trajectory for Frozen Repeat Near-Equatorial Low Earth Orbits". <i>AIAA Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets</i>. <b>59</b> (1): 84–93. <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/2022JSpRo..59...84L">2022JSpRo..59...84L</a>. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.2514%2F1.A34934">10.2514/1.A34934</a>. <a href="/wiki/S2CID_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="S2CID (identifier)">S2CID</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:236275629">236275629</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=AIAA+Journal+of+Spacecraft+and+Rockets&rft.atitle=Designing+a+Reference+Trajectory+for+Frozen+Repeat+Near-Equatorial+Low+Earth+Orbits&rft.volume=59&rft.issue=1&rft.pages=84-93&rft.date=2022-01&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.semanticscholar.org%2FCorpusID%3A236275629%23id-name%3DS2CID&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.2514%2F1.A34934&rft_id=info%3Abibcode%2F2022JSpRo..59...84L&rft.aulast=Low&rft.aufirst=Samuel+Y.+W.&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ASun-synchronous+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="CITEREFRosengren1989" class="citation conference cs1">Rosengren, Mats (1989). "Improved technique for Passive Eccentricity Control (AAS 89-155)". <i>Advances in the Astronautical Sciences</i>. Vol. 69. AAS/NASA. <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/1989ommd.proc...49R">1989ommd.proc...49R</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=conference&rft.atitle=Improved+technique+for+Passive+Eccentricity+Control+%28AAS+89-155%29&rft.btitle=Advances+in+the+Astronautical+Sciences&rft.pub=AAS%2FNASA&rft.date=1989&rft_id=info%3Abibcode%2F1989ommd.proc...49R&rft.aulast=Rosengren&rft.aufirst=Mats&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ASun-synchronous+orbit" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> </ol></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Further_reading">Further reading</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Sun-synchronous_orbit&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Further reading"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://topex.ucsd.edu/geodynamics/14gravity1_1.pdf">Sandwell, David T., The Gravity Field of the Earth - Part 1 (2002)</a> (p. 8)</li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.centennialofflight.net/essay/Dictionary/SUN_SYNCH_ORBIT/DI155.htm">Sun-Synchronous Orbit dictionary entry</a>, from U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission</li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/ask_astro/answers/970613a.html">NASA Q&A</a></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFBoain2004" class="citation web cs1">Boain, Ronald J. (February 2004). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20071025153116/http://trs-new.jpl.nasa.gov/dspace/bitstream/2014/37901/1/04-0327.pdf">"The A-B-Cs of Sun Synchronous Orbit Design"</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span>. Space Flight Mechanics Conference. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://trs-new.jpl.nasa.gov/dspace/bitstream/2014/37901/1/04-0327.pdf">the original</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span> on 25 October 2007.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=The+A-B-Cs+of+Sun+Synchronous+Orbit+Design&rft.pub=Space+Flight+Mechanics+Conference&rft.date=2004-02&rft.aulast=Boain&rft.aufirst=Ronald+J.&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Ftrs-new.jpl.nasa.gov%2Fdspace%2Fbitstream%2F2014%2F37901%2F1%2F04-0327.pdf&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ASun-synchronous+orbit" class="Z3988"></span></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="External_links">External links</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Sun-synchronous_orbit&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: External links"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.itc.nl/Pub/sensordb/AllSatellites.aspx">List of satellites in Sun-synchronous orbit</a></li></ul> <div class="navbox-styles"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1129693374">.mw-parser-output .hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul{margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt,.mw-parser-output .hlist li{margin:0;display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ul{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist .mw-empty-li{display:none}.mw-parser-output .hlist dt::after{content:": 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dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt li:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li li:last-child::after{content:")";font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol{counter-reset:listitem}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol>li{counter-increment:listitem}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol>li::before{content:" "counter(listitem)"\a0 "}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd ol>li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt ol>li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li ol>li:first-child::before{content:" ("counter(listitem)"\a0 "}</style><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236075235">.mw-parser-output .navbox{box-sizing:border-box;border:1px solid #a2a9b1;width:100%;clear:both;font-size:88%;text-align:center;padding:1px;margin:1em auto 0}.mw-parser-output .navbox .navbox{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .navbox+.navbox,.mw-parser-output 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.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_orbits" 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_orbits" 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 href="/wiki/Low_Earth_orbit" title="Low Earth orbit">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 class="mw-selflink selflink">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 class="mw-selflink selflink">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/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> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1130092004">.mw-parser-output .portal-bar{font-size:88%;font-weight:bold;display:flex;justify-content:center;align-items:baseline}.mw-parser-output .portal-bar-bordered{padding:0 2em;background-color:#fdfdfd;border:1px solid #a2a9b1;clear:both;margin:1em auto 0}.mw-parser-output .portal-bar-related{font-size:100%;justify-content:flex-start}.mw-parser-output .portal-bar-unbordered{padding:0 1.7em;margin-left:0}.mw-parser-output .portal-bar-header{margin:0 1em 0 0.5em;flex:0 0 auto;min-height:24px}.mw-parser-output .portal-bar-content{display:flex;flex-flow:row wrap;flex:0 1 auto;padding:0.15em 0;column-gap:1em;align-items:baseline;margin:0;list-style:none}.mw-parser-output .portal-bar-content-related{margin:0;list-style:none}.mw-parser-output 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