LOW EARTH ORBIT

Subject: Science & tech

Context: Bharti Global and UK government-led OneWeb announced the launch of 36 communications satellites and said it aims to offer high-speed internet from its constellation of satellites in India by mid-2022.

Concept:

• The Low Earth Orbit (LEO) broadband satellite communications company on Friday launched the 36 satellites from a Soyuz launch vehicle, which began from the Vostochny Cosmodrome, in Russia.
• This takes the total in-orbit constellation to 110 satellites, part of OneWeb’s 648 LEO satellite fleet that will deliver high-speed, low-latency global connectivity, a company release said.
• The launch puts OneWeb on track to offer global services to customers from late 2021, starting with the United Kingdom, Alaska, Northern Europe, Greenland, Iceland, the Arctic Seas, and Canada, with global service in 2022.

Low Earth Orbit

• A low Earth orbit (LEO) is an orbit around Earth with an altitude above Earth’s surface from 160 kms to 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles).
• LEO is high enough to cross all the mountains and also high enough that atmospheric drag won’t bring satellites right back home again.
• It is worth to mention that objects below approximately 160 kilometers (99 mi) will experience very rapid orbital decay and altitude loss.
• Most satellites, the Space Shuttle, the International Space Station and the Hubble Space Telescope are also present in LEO. Most manmade objects in space are in LEO. Most navigation satellites by military are also in LEO.

Uses of LEOs;

• LEO-based telecommunication systems provide cheap services to countries. It helps in providing satellite telephone service in hilly areas where it would be too costly or even impossible to lay land lines.
• Low Earth Orbit is used for things that we want to visit our Space Shuttle, like the International Space Station (ISS), Hubble Space Telescope and other military and communication satellites.
• It also helps the country in having a close eye on the cross border activates through navigation satellites.