Orbits are circles or ellipsoids, not spirals. It takes a ton (possibly literally) of propellant to change your orbit from a circle in GEO to an ellipse that i

Orbits are circles or ellipsoids, not spirals. It takes a ton (possibly literally) of propellant to change your orbit from a circle in GEO to an ellipse that intercepts the atmosphere. If you don't have enough, you've not put it in a deorbiting spiral, simply an oval that will stay up for about as long as the original satellite's circular orbit. Rocket scientists work in terms of 'delta V', meaning an amount of energy gives you a particular change in velocity. GEO to LEO takes on the order of 6 km/s (oversimplifying because orbital mechanics are complicated), meaning you need a rocket engine that's capable of accelerating your satellite from 0 to 13,400 miles per hour. That's really expensive and difficult.