2 ms·

> fill it with millions of circles (not points!) that must keep certain distances from another. This is, at best, misleading. The objects that have to keep cle

> fill it with millions of circles (not points!) that must keep certain distances from another. This is, at best, misleading. The objects that have to keep clear of each other are (effectively) points, and they can share orbits with different phasing. The most obvious real-world example of multiple objects sharing an orbit is geostationary orbit.

Beldin 5y ago
According to Wikipedia [1], LEO is up to 2000km, though e.g. the ISS is at about 400km; geostationary orbit is 35,768 km. Minimum difference in orbital length is 2 pi times 33,768km. So the obvious case for geostationary orbits is significantly better than for LEO. Nevertheless, LEO isn't bad. A height of 400 km translates into a circle of about 42,655 km (orbital length of ISS according to NASA). That is enough to park several satellites in without them being parked bumper to bumper. [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_orbits https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_orbits