Medium Earth orbit
E1030560
Medium Earth orbit is a region of space around Earth located between low Earth orbit and geostationary orbit, commonly used for navigation satellite constellations like GPS.
Statements (50)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
Earth orbit regime
ⓘ
orbital region ⓘ satellite orbit ⓘ |
| advantage |
good geometry for global navigation coverage
ⓘ
shorter signal path and latency than geostationary orbit ⓘ wider Earth surface coverage per satellite than low Earth orbit ⓘ |
| alsoKnownAs |
MEO
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
intermediate circular orbit ⓘ |
| altitudeRangeDescription | between low Earth orbit and geostationary orbit altitudes ⓘ |
| challenge |
high radiation levels for spacecraft electronics
ⓘ
longer signal travel time than low Earth orbit ⓘ |
| comparedToGeostationaryOrbit | lower altitude and shorter orbital period ⓘ |
| comparedToLowEarthOrbit | higher altitude and longer orbital period ⓘ |
| governedBy |
Earth’s gravitational field
ⓘ
orbital mechanics ⓘ |
| gravitationalInfluence | dominated by Earth gravity ⓘ |
| hasUser |
China
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
European Union NERFINISHED ⓘ India NERFINISHED ⓘ Russia NERFINISHED ⓘ United States NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| hostsConstellation |
BeiDou (MEO component)
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
GLONASS NERFINISHED ⓘ GPS NERFINISHED ⓘ Galileo NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| locatedBetween |
geostationary orbit
ⓘ
low Earth orbit ⓘ |
| orbitalPeriodRange_hours | approximately 2 to 24 ⓘ |
| orbitalShape | mostly circular for navigation constellations ⓘ |
| orbits | Earth NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| partOf | Earth-centered orbital classification ⓘ |
| passesThrough |
inner Van Allen belt (for some inclinations)
ⓘ
outer Van Allen belt (for some altitudes) ⓘ |
| radiationEnvironment | includes Van Allen radiation belts ⓘ |
| requires |
precise orbit determination
ⓘ
radiation-hardened spacecraft design ⓘ |
| subjectTo |
space debris concerns
ⓘ
space weather effects ⓘ |
| typicalAltitudeLowerBound_km | 2000 GENERATED ⓘ |
| typicalAltitudeUpperBound_km | 35786 GENERATED ⓘ |
| typicalInclination |
55 degrees (GPS)
ⓘ
56 degrees (Galileo) ⓘ 64.8 degrees (GLONASS) ⓘ |
| typicalNavigationOrbitAltitude_km | about 20000 GENERATED ⓘ |
| typicalNavigationOrbitPeriod_hours | about 12 GENERATED ⓘ |
| usedFor |
Earth observation (specialized missions)
ⓘ
communications satellites ⓘ global navigation satellite systems ⓘ navigation satellite constellations ⓘ space environment research ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.