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low Earth orbit (LEO)

Also known as: LEO, low Earth orbit, Low Earth

A low Earth orbit (LEO) is an Earth-centered satellite orbit with altitudes typically between about 500 km and 2,000 km above the Earth’s surface. Satellites in LEO are used for a wide range of applications, including communications, Earth observation, surveillance, and scientific missions.

For satellite communications, LEO systems offer much lower propagation delay than GEO systems but require constellations of multiple satellites to provide continuous coverage of a given region due to their limited footprint and orbital motion.

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