Orbiting at Zero Speed: How Geostationary Satellites Rule Global Communications

Orbiting at Zero Speed: How Geostationary Satellites Rule Global Communications

Definition and How Geostationary Orbit Works A geostationary orbit (GEO) is a circular orbit around Earth’s equator at approximately 35,786 km altitude (about 22,236 miles) where a satellite orbits once per sidereal day (~23 hours 56 minutes) in the same direction as Earth’s rotation en.wikipedia.org esa.int. This precise altitude and orbital period make the satellite appear motionless at a fixed point in the sky to ground observers. In other wo…