Browse Definitions :
Definition

low earth orbit (LEO) satellite

A low earth orbit (LEO) satellite is an object, generally a piece of electronic equipment, that circles around the earth at lower altitudes than geosynchronous satellites.

LEO satellites orbit between 2,000 and 200 kilometers above the earth. LEO satellites are commonly used for communications, military reconnaissance, spying and other imaging applications.

Most of the man-made objects orbiting earth are in LEO. Satellites made for communications benefit from the lower signal propagation delay to LEO. This lower propagation delay results in less latency. Being closer to the earth has an obvious benefit for many types of earth observational satellites by resolving smaller subjects with greater detail.

LEO satellites are generally less costly to place as they require a great deal less rocket power to place. As compared to geosynchronous orbiting satellites at 36,000 km, LEO travel through a much denser atmosphere and thus experience far more aerodynamic drag. This means they require more power to travel at higher speeds and make corrections to maintain their lower orbits. Where geosynchronous satellite orbits in time with earth rotation at about 3.06 x 103 meters per second an LEO satellite might travel at 7.78 x 103 meters per second, orbiting many times a day. The ISS orbits at 400 km and makes a full revolution round the earth about every 93 minutes.

LEO satellites have a much smaller field of communication with earth than a satellite at greater altitude. They also have a faster rotation around the earth. These factors necessitate a constellation of satellites to operate in concert for some applications. A constellation is a group of satellites working in concert, spaced in order to provide the required coverage.

The range of LEO satellites ends where medium earth orbit (MEO) begins at 2,000 km. MEO extends to the reaches of geostationary or geosynchronous orbit.

This was last updated in August 2019

Continue Reading About low earth orbit (LEO) satellite

Networking
  • firewall as a service (FWaaS)

    Firewall as a service (FWaaS), also known as a cloud firewall, is a service that provides cloud-based network traffic analysis ...

  • private 5G

    Private 5G is a wireless network technology that delivers 5G cellular connectivity for private network use cases.

  • NFVi (network functions virtualization infrastructure)

    NFVi (network functions virtualization infrastructure) encompasses all of the networking hardware and software needed to support ...

Security
  • virus (computer virus)

    A computer virus is a type of malware that attaches itself to a program or file. A virus can replicate and spread across an ...

  • Certified Information Security Manager (CISM)

    Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) is an advanced certification that indicates that an individual possesses the ...

  • cryptography

    Cryptography is a method of protecting information and communications using codes, so that only those for whom the information is...

CIO
  • IT project management

    IT project management is the process of planning, organizing and delineating responsibility for the completion of an ...

  • chief financial officer (CFO)

    A chief financial officer (CFO) is the corporate title for the person responsible for managing a company's financial operations ...

  • chief strategy officer (CSO)

    A chief strategy officer (CSO) is a C-level executive charged with helping formulate, facilitate and communicate an ...

HRSoftware
  • HR automation

    Human resources automation (HR automation) is a method of using software to automate and streamline repetitive and laborious HR ...

  • compensation management

    Compensation management is the discipline and process for determining employees' appropriate pay and benefits.

  • HR technology (human resources tech)

    HR technology (human resources technology) is an umbrella term for hardware and software used to automate the human resource ...

Customer Experience
  • martech (marketing technology)

    Martech (marketing technology) refers to the integration of software tools, platforms, and applications designed to streamline ...

  • transactional marketing

    Transactional marketing is a business strategy that focuses on single, point-of-sale transactions.

  • customer profiling

    Customer profiling is the detailed and systematic process of constructing a clear portrait of a company's ideal customer by ...

Close