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”Starlink satellites are over 60 times closer to Earth than traditional satellites” Goodness! I really need to learn more about satellites! For some reason tha

by 40four 6y ago

”Starlink satellites are over 60 times closer to Earth than traditional satellites” Goodness! I really need to learn more about satellites! For some reason that statement really strikes me. I wonder what the ‘band’ of distance from earth most satellites fall into. The range of area a satellite can orbit earth must be pretty wide if this is the case. Now I need to look up what is the closest & furthest distance a small object can reasonably orbit earth. I mean, now that I think of it, the moon is a satellite. How far is the moon? Dang it, I’m realizing I really take all these things for granted. I just realized my reading TODO list for the weekend :)

Plutoberth 6y ago
Starlink roughly orbits at 1200km. The most common orbit for internet sats is geostationary orbit, which means that the satellite is stationary with regards to an observer on Earth. It works because a satellite on a circular orbit at that height moves at the same speed as the rotation of Earth. This way you can have a simple, pointed antenna and not an obscenely expensive phased array like Starlink. That being said, GEO is only 36000km,so I'm not sure where the "60 times" figure comes from...
- nickik 6y ago
  They are orbiting at 550 km, 1200km was the original constellation plan that was later changed.
- twicetwice 6y ago
  Starlink currently orbits at 550 km. 550*60=33000 so that puts it slightly more than 60 times closer than GEO. There are other shells planned at different heights, but the current satellites, and ones launched in the near future, are all orbiting at 550km. Source: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starlink https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starlink -- in the table of launches there's a column for orbit height.
  - Plutoberth 6y ago
    Right - thanks for the correction.
  - 40four 6y ago
    It still sounds so wild for some reason! 60X closer! You’re saying these and other satellites are planned for this ‘shell’ and maybe others at different distances? Could this be partly due to congestion and the problem of ‘space junk’? Also, won’t satellites in an orbit this close to earth eventually be ‘sucked’ in to the atmosphere and burn up?
Dylan16807 6y ago
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/82/Orbitalaltitudes.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/82/Orbitala...
roelschroeven 6y ago
Let me suggest some starting points for your reading. The Wikipedia pages on low earth orbit, medium earth orbit, geostationary orbit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low_Earth_orbit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low_Earth_orbit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medium_Earth_orbit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medium_Earth_orbit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geostationary_orbit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geostationary_orbit Interactive 3D visualization of synthetic satellites in orbit around earth (including the ISS, rocket bodies, debris): http://stuffin.space/ http://stuffin.space/

by 40four 6y ago

Plutoberth 6y ago

Starlink roughly orbits at 1200km. The most common orbit for internet sats is geostationary orbit, which means that the satellite is stationary with regards to an observer on Earth. It works because a satellite on a circular orbit at that height moves at the same speed as the rotation of Earth. This way you can have a simple, pointed antenna and not an obscenely expensive phased array like Starlink. That being said, GEO is only 36000km,so I'm not sure where the "60 times" figure comes from...

nickik 6y ago
They are orbiting at 550 km, 1200km was the original constellation plan that was later changed.
twicetwice 6y ago
Starlink currently orbits at 550 km. 550*60=33000 so that puts it slightly more than 60 times closer than GEO. There are other shells planned at different heights, but the current satellites, and ones launched in the near future, are all orbiting at 550km. Source: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starlink https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starlink -- in the table of launches there's a column for orbit height.
- Plutoberth 6y ago
  Right - thanks for the correction.
- 40four 6y ago
  It still sounds so wild for some reason! 60X closer! You’re saying these and other satellites are planned for this ‘shell’ and maybe others at different distances? Could this be partly due to congestion and the problem of ‘space junk’? Also, won’t satellites in an orbit this close to earth eventually be ‘sucked’ in to the atmosphere and burn up?

Dylan16807 6y ago

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/82/Orbitalaltitudes.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/82/Orbitala...

roelschroeven 6y ago

Let me suggest some starting points for your reading. The Wikipedia pages on low earth orbit, medium earth orbit, geostationary orbit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low_Earth_orbit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low_Earth_orbit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medium_Earth_orbit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medium_Earth_orbit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geostationary_orbit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geostationary_orbit Interactive 3D visualization of synthetic satellites in orbit around earth (including the ISS, rocket bodies, debris): http://stuffin.space/ http://stuffin.space/