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Why is it higher, rather than lower? If it is higher, will it not eventually be back in geostationary orbit?
by mongol 7y ago
Why is it higher, rather than lower? If it is higher, will it not eventually be back in geostationary orbit?
- zentiggr 7y agoAt these orbital heights, there is no atmosphere for drag effects, so adding energy to move to a slightly higher orbit, outside of true geosync altitude, is a permanent change. Low Earth orbits do have atmospheric drag issues, and those items need to have fuel to replace lost velocity and restore the correct orbit. The ISS page has a neat table of orbital height over time where you can see the burns to 'jack it back up'.