What are LEO, GEO, and GTO?
These acronyms stand for “low-Earth orbit,” “geosynchronous (or geostationary) orbit,” and “geosynchronous transfer orbit,” respectively. They are various orbits around the Earth into which satellites are often placed. LEO refers to orbits that are typically less than 2000 km in altitude. GEO is an orbit around the equator 36,000 km above the Earth. Communications satellites covering large, specific regions are often placed into GEO because the speed required to keep an object in this orbit matches the speed of Earth’s rotation, so in effect satellites appear to remain fixed above a single location. GTO is an elliptical orbit into which satellites are often first launched in order to reach GEO. Satellites also use other orbits, but LEO, GEO, and GTO are among the most common.
