Some Earth satellites
Here are orbital details of a few active satellites orbiting the Earth, covering different types of orbits (Low Earth Orbit, Medium Earth Orbit, and Geostationary Orbit):
1. International Space Station (ISS)
- Type: Low Earth Orbit (LEO)
- Altitude: ~400 km
- Orbital Period: ~90 minutes (1.5 hours)
- Orbital Speed: ~28,000 km/h (7.66 km/s)
- Inclination: 51.6° (relative to the equator)
- Purpose: Research, international cooperation, microgravity experiments
2. Hubble Space Telescope
- Type: Low Earth Orbit (LEO)
- Altitude: ~547 km
- Orbital Period: ~95 minutes
- Orbital Speed: ~27,300 km/h (7.58 km/s)
- Inclination: 28.5°
- Purpose: Space observations and astrophysics research
3. GPS Satellites (e.g., GPS Block IIR-M)
- Type: Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)
- Altitude: ~20,200 km
- Orbital Period: ~12 hours
- Orbital Speed: ~14,000 km/h (3.88 km/s)
- Inclination: 55°
- Purpose: Global Positioning System (GPS) for navigation and timing
4. GOES-16 (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite)
- Type: Geostationary Orbit (GEO)
- Altitude: ~35,786 km
- Orbital Period: 24 hours (synchronous with Earth’s rotation)
- Orbital Speed: ~3.07 km/s
- Inclination: 0° (equatorial orbit)
- Purpose: Weather monitoring and environmental data collection
5. Sentinel-1A (Earth Observation)
- Type: Sun-Synchronous Orbit (a type of Low Earth Orbit)
- Altitude: ~693 km
- Orbital Period: ~98 minutes
- Orbital Speed: ~27,000 km/h (7.5 km/s)
- Inclination: 98.18°
- Purpose: Radar imaging for environmental monitoring and disaster management
6. Iridium NEXT Constellation
- Type: Low Earth Orbit (LEO)
- Altitude: ~780 km
- Orbital Period: ~100 minutes
- Orbital Speed: ~26,800 km/h (7.45 km/s)
- Inclination: 86.4°
- Purpose: Global satellite communication
These satellites serve a variety of purposes, from research and earth observation to communication and navigation, and their orbits are chosen based on the mission requirements.