A low Earth orbit (LEO) is an
orbit around Earth with a
period of 128 minutes or less (making at least 11.25 orbits per day) and an
eccentricity less than 0.25. Most of the artificial objects in
outer space
Outer space, commonly shortened to space, is the expanse that exists beyond Earth and its atmosphere and between celestial bodies. Outer space is not completely empty—it is a near-perfect vacuum containing a low density of particles, pred ...
are in LEO, with an altitude never more than about one-third of the
radius of Earth.
The term ''LEO region'' is also used for the area of space below an
altitude of (about one-third of Earth's radius).
Objects in orbits that pass through this zone, even if they have an
apogee
An apsis (; ) is the farthest or nearest point in the orbit of a planetary body about its primary body. For example, the apsides of the Earth are called the aphelion and perihelion.
General description
There are two apsides in any el ...
further out or are
sub-orbital, are carefully tracked since they present a collision risk to the many LEO satellites.
All crewed
space stations to date have been within LEO. From 1968 to 1972, the
Apollo program's lunar missions sent humans beyond LEO. Since the end of the Apollo program, no
human spaceflights have been beyond LEO.
Defining characteristics
A wide variety of sources define LEO in terms of
altitude. The altitude of an object in an
elliptic orbit can vary significantly along the orbit. Even for
circular orbits, the altitude above ground can vary by as much as (especially for
polar orbits) due to the
oblateness of
Earth's spheroid figure and local
topography
Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps.
Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sc ...
. 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
Kepler's third law, this corresponds to a
semi-major axis of . For circular orbits, this in turn corresponds to an altitude of above the mean radius of Earth, which is consistent with some of the upper altitude limits in some LEO definitions.
The LEO region is defined by some sources as a region in space that LEO orbits occupy.
Some
highly elliptical orbits may pass through the LEO region near their lowest altitude (or
perigee
An apsis (; ) is the farthest or nearest point in the orbit of a planetary body about its primary body. For example, the apsides of the Earth are called the aphelion and perihelion.
General description
There are two apsides in any el ...
) but are not in an LEO orbit because their highest altitude (or
apogee
An apsis (; ) is the farthest or nearest point in the orbit of a planetary body about its primary body. For example, the apsides of the Earth are called the aphelion and perihelion.
General description
There are two apsides in any el ...
) exceeds .
Sub-orbital objects can also reach the LEO region but are not in an LEO orbit because they
re-enter the atmosphere. 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.
Orbital characteristics
The mean orbital velocity needed to maintain a stable low Earth orbit is about , which translates to . However, this depends on the exact altitude of the orbit. Calculated for a circular orbit of the orbital velocity is , but for a higher orbit the velocity is reduced to . The launch vehicle's
delta-v needed to achieve low Earth orbit starts around .
The pull of
gravity 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
free fall around Earth, because in orbit both, the
gravitational force and the
centrifugal force balance out each other. As a result, spacecrafts in orbit continue to stay in orbit, and people inside or outside such crafts continuously experience
weightlessness.
Objects in LEO encounter atmospheric drag from
gases in the
thermosphere (approximately 80–600 km above the surface) or
exosphere (approximately and higher), depending on orbit height. Orbits of satellites that reach altitudes below decay fast due to atmospheric drag. Objects in LEO orbit Earth between the denser part of the atmosphere and below the inner
Van Allen radiation belt.
Equatorial low Earth orbits (ELEO) are a subset of LEO. These orbits, with low inclination to the Equator, allow rapid revisit times of low-latitude places on Earth and have the lowest
delta-v requirement (i.e., fuel spent) of any orbit, provided they have the direct (not retrograde) orientation with respect to the Earth's rotation. Orbits with a very high inclination angle to the equator are usually called
polar orbits or
Sun-synchronous orbits.
Higher orbits include
medium Earth orbit (MEO), sometimes called intermediate circular orbit (ICO), and further above,
geostationary orbit (GEO). Orbits higher than low orbit can lead to early failure of electronic components due to intense
radiation and charge accumulation.
In 2017, "very low Earth orbits" (VLEO) began to be seen in
regulatory filings. These orbits, below about , require the use of novel technologies for
orbit raising because they operate in orbits that would ordinarily decay too soon to be economically useful.
Use
A low Earth orbit requires the lowest amount of energy for satellite placement. It provides high bandwidth and low communication
latency. Satellites and space stations in LEO are more accessible for crew and servicing.
Since it requires less
energy
In physics, energy (from Ancient Greek: ἐνέργεια, ''enérgeia'', “activity”) is the quantitative property that is transferred to a body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of work and in the form of ...
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
Iridium phone system. Some
communication satellite
A communications satellite is an artificial satellite that relays and amplifies radio telecommunication signals via a transponder; it creates a communication channel between a source transmitter and a receiver at different locations on Eart ...
s use much higher
geostationary orbits and move at the same angular velocity as the Earth as to appear stationary above one location on the planet.
Disadvantages
Unlike
geosynchronous satellite, satellites in LEO have a small
field of view and so can observe and communicate with only a fraction of the Earth at a time. That means that a network (or "
constellation") of satellites is required to provide continuous coverage. Satellites in lower regions of LEO also suffer from fast
orbital decay and require either periodic re-boosting to maintain a stable orbit or launching replacement satellites when old ones re-enter.
Examples
* The
International Space Station is in a LEO about to above Earth's surface, and needs re-boosting a few times a year due to orbital decay.
* The
Iridium telecom satellites orbit at about .
*
Earth observation satellites, also known as
remote sensing satellites, including
spy satellites and other
Earth imaging 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
satellite
A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioiso ...
s are placed in LEO. Satellites can also take advantage of consistent lighting of the surface below via
Sun-synchronous LEO orbits at an altitude of about and near polar inclination.
Envisat (2002–2012) is one example.
* The
Hubble Space Telescope orbits at about above Earth.
* The Chinese
Tiangong space station was launched in April of 2021 and currently orbits between about and .
; In fiction
* In the film ''
2001: A Space Odyssey'', Earth's transit station ("Space Station V") "orbited 300 km above Earth."
Former
* The Chinese
Tiangong-1 station was in orbit at about , until its de-orbiting in 2018.
* The Chinese
Tiangong-2 station was in orbit at about , until its de-orbiting in 2019.
*
Gravimetry missions such as
GOCE orbited at about to measure Earth's gravity field at highest sensitivity. The mission lifetime was limited because of atmospheric drag.
GRACE
Grace may refer to:
Places United States
* Grace, Idaho, a city
* Grace (CTA station), Chicago Transit Authority's Howard Line, Illinois
* Little Goose Creek (Kentucky), location of Grace post office
* Grace, Carroll County, Missouri, an uninc ...
and
GRACE-FO were orbiting at about .
Space debris
The LEO environment is becoming congested with
space debris because of the frequency of object launches. 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
domino effect known as
Kessler syndrome. The Orbital Debris Program, part of
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeedin ...
, tracks over 25,000 objects larger than 10 cm in LEO, the estimated number between 1 and 10 cm in diameter is 500,000. The amount of particles bigger than 1 mm exceeds 100 million. The particles travel at speeds up to , so even a small particle impact can severely damage a spacecraft.
See also
*
Comparison of orbital launch systems
*
Geostationary orbit (GEO)
*
Heavy lift launch vehicle
*
High Earth orbit (HEO)
*
Highly elliptical orbit (HEO)
*
List of orbits
*
Medium Earth orbit (MEO)
*
Medium-lift launch vehicle
*
Specific orbital energy examples
*
Suborbital spaceflight
*
Ukrainian Optical Facilities for Near-Earth Space Surveillance Network
*
Van Allen radiation belt
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Low Earth Orbit
Earth orbits
Articles containing video clips