Types Of Orbit And Their Significance | UPSC Science and Technology

An Orbit is a curved path that an object in space rotates around another object because of gravity. Just like, the Moon orbits the earth, and the earth orbits the Sun. When scientists launch satellites they put them into a particular orbit in space. Then, gravity helps the satellite to remain in the required orbit. 

Geostationary Orbit(GEO) 

The Satellites that revolve in the geostationary orbit circle the Earth above the equator from west to east. The satellites travel exactly at the same rate as Earth’s rotation. The speed of the GEO Satellites is 3 km per second and they are at an altitude of 35,786 km. They are placed for telecommunication, weather monitoring, global coverage, and mining.

Low Earth orbit(LEO) 

Low Earth Orbit is very close to the Earth’s surface. The maximum distance is 1000kms and the minimum distance is 160 km. LEO satellites do not have to follow a particular path around the Earth. They are used for Satellite imaging, and Satellites in this orbit travel at a speed of 7.8 km per second and it takes 90 minutes to circle the Earth. 

Medium Earth Orbit(MEO) 

The Medium Earth Orbits are a wide range of orbits that lie between the LEO and GEO. The majority of the MEO satellites are quite similar to the LEO because they don’t take any specific paths around Earth. It is commonly used by navigation satellites, tracking large jumbo jets, and getting directions on your smartphone. 

Polar-Orbit and Sun-Synchronous Orbit(SSO) Satellites in Polar orbits travel from North to East. Polar orbits are a type of low Earth orbit, and they are at low altitudes between 200 to 1000 km. The Sun-Synchronous orbit travel over the Polar regions and is synchronous with the Sun. That means they are fixed in one position that is relative to the Sun. The satellites are used to monitor an area by taking a series of images at a certain page for weeks, months, and years. This would help to understand the weather pattern. 

Transfer Orbits and Geo Stationary Orbits (GTO)

Transfer Orbits are used to get from one orbit to another. They are used to place the satellites on their final orbits. This helps the satellite reach a high-altitude orbit like GEO without needing the launch vehicle. That is why they are called geostationary transfer orbit(GTO) 

The satellites fixed in a particular orbit help us to understand the weather pattern, and take images of the planet, protecting us from outer space damage. Many Satellites are sent into space for various purposes to study the planets and the solar system. In the future, with the advanced technology in our hands, things will get faster and easier for scientists to understand this vast universe.

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