MEOsatelliidid

MEOsatelliidid, also known as Medium Earth Orbit satellites, are a class of artificial satellites operating in an orbital path between low Earth orbit (LEO) and geostationary Earth orbit (GEO). This orbital region typically ranges from 2,000 kilometers to 35,786 kilometers above the Earth's surface. Satellites in MEO offer a compromise between the coverage and latency characteristics of LEO and GEO orbits.

The most prominent application of MEO satellites is for global navigation satellite systems (GNSS). Systems like the Global Positioning System (GPS) operated by the United States, GLONASS by Russia, Galileo by the European Union, and BeiDou by China all utilize constellations of satellites in MEO. These systems provide precise positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) services worldwide. A constellation of MEO satellites ensures that at any given time, a sufficient number of satellites are visible from any point on Earth to allow for accurate location determination.

Satellites in MEO experience less atmospheric drag than those in LEO, leading to longer orbital lifetimes and reduced need for orbital corrections. However, they are still subject to some atmospheric effects and space weather phenomena. Compared to GEO satellites, MEO satellites have lower signal latency because they are closer to Earth. This reduced latency is crucial for real-time navigation and communication applications. The orbital periods for MEO satellites vary depending on their altitude but are typically several hours, meaning they are not stationary over a particular point on Earth like GEO satellites.