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Are you a space enthusiast who is trying to figure out what astronomers mean when they speak of low earth orbit?
If you want to stay up to date on the latest breakthroughs in space travel, it’s important that you know what low earth orbit is. Once you know a few important things about it, you’ll understand much more about the wonderful world of astronomy.
Read on and we’ll tell you everything that you need to know.
The Basics of Low Earth Orbit
Humans have been putting satellites and rockets into low earth orbit since the nineteen fifties with space programs such as Sputnik, Vostok, and Mercury. All of these missions are few in low earth orbit. As time went on, mankind began venturing farther out.
The Apollo missions made a leap in space travel by traveling to the moon. Missions involving robotic aircraft such as the Voyager missions started going even farther into the edges of the solar system.
Even though there are many space missions that have traveled far beyond the orbit of our planet, the majority of space missions, both manned and unmanned, continue to be in low earth orbit. The main reason for this has to do with the fact that most of the earth’s satellites, including the space station, maintain their orbits in this zone.
How to Define Low Earth Orbit
Any object that is at altitudes between ninety-nine and twelve hundred miles is in low earth orbit. If objects orbit at lower altitudes they will experience orbital decay and will fall back to the earth. These objects will either burn up in the earth’s atmosphere or crash into the earth.
Most objects that are in low earth orbit have an orbital period (the amount of time it takes them to orbit the earth) of around one hundred minutes.
The higher an object orbits, the less atmospheric drag it has. If an object is beyond the range of low earth orbit, it enters a zone known as the Van Allen Radiation Belts. In this zone, there are many charged particles that the earth has trapped with its magnetic field. Radiation levels are therefore very high in this zone.
Benefits of Low Earth Orbit
Launching rockets beyond the altitude of low earth orbit requires huge amounts of fuel. This makes it more difficult for most types of rockets to reach more distant orbits.
Objects that orbit at low altitudes also experience higher bandwidth and lower communication lag.
Objects in low earth orbit also don’t get hit with as much radiation as they would if they were orbiting farther from the surface of the earth.
If you want to explore low earth orbit more in-depth, consider signing up for Symposium 363 where you can learn more about astronomy and space travel.
Low Earth Orbit Is Easier to Understand Than Most People Think
Most objects that humans have put into space are in low earth orbit. There are many benefits to orbiting the earth at this altitude including faster communication and higher bandwidth.
If you want to find out more about the marvels of space travel, don’t forget to check out the Technology section of our website. Here we publish many articles on this important subject.
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