Courses
Courses for Kids
Free study material
Offline Centres
More
Store Icon
Store
seo-qna
SearchIcon
banner

What is meant by the orbit of a satellite? On what basis and how are the orbits of artificial satellites classified?

Answer
VerifiedVerified
438.9k+ views
Hint: In order to answer this question let us first understand about the satellite. A satellite is an object that circles another body with or without a purpose. There are two sorts of satellites: natural satellites and artificial satellites.

Complete step by step solution:
An orbit is a defined path (elliptical or circular) or trajectory that a satellite follows around a planet. Satellite orbits are classed as follows based on the height of the satellite's orbit above the Earth's surface:
High Earth Orbits (height from the surface of the earth >\[35780\] km): The orbit is named High Earth Orbit if the height of the satellite's orbit above the earth's surface is higher than or equal to \[35780\] km.
Medium Earth Orbit (\[2000\]km to \[35780\] km above the earth's surface): Medium earth orbits are defined as satellite orbits that are between \[200\]and \[35780\] kilometres above the earth's surface.
Low Earth Orbits (Height above the Earth's Surface: \[180\]km to \[2000\] km): Low Earth Orbits are defined as satellite orbits with a height above the Earth's surface of \[180\] km to \[2000\]km.

Note: Satellites serve a variety of purposes. They may be used to produce star maps and maps of planetary surfaces, as well as snap images of planets they are launched into, among other things. Military and civilian Earth observation satellites, communications satellites, navigation satellites, weather satellites, and space telescopes are some of the most common types. Satellites include space stations and human spaceships in orbit.