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Encyclopedia > Geostationary transfer orbit

A geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) is a Hohmann transfer orbit around the Earth between a low Earth orbit (LEO) and a geostationary orbit (GEO). It is an ellipse where the perigee is a point on a LEO and the apogee has the same distance from the Earth as the GEO. In astronautics and aerospace engineering, the Hohmann transfer orbit is an orbital maneuver that, under standard assumption, moves a spacecraft from one circular orbit to another using two engine impulses. ... This article is about Earth as a planet. ... A low Earth orbit (LEO) is an orbit in which objects such as satellites are below intermediate circular orbit (ICO) and far below geostationary orbit, but typically around 350 - 1400 km above the Earths surface. ... Geostationary orbit A geostationary orbit (GEO) is a geosynchronous orbit directly above the Earths equator (0Â° latitude), with orbital eccentricity of zero. ... For other uses, see Ellipse (disambiguation). ... Perigee is the point at which an object in orbit around the Earth makes its closest approach to the Earth. ...

More generally, a geostationary transfer orbit is an intermediate orbit between a LEO and a geosynchronous orbit. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with geostationary orbit. ...

$Delta v = 2 v sin frac{Delta i}{2}$

Assuming a typical Ariane 5 GTO with a semimajor axis of 24,582 km, the perigee velocity of a GTO is 9.88 km/s while the apogee velocity is at 1.64 km/s. In geometry, the semi-major axis (also semimajor axis) a applies to ellipses and hyperbolas. ... Perigee is the point at which an object in orbit around the Earth makes its closest approach to the Earth. ... This article is about several astronomical terms (apogee & perigee, aphelion & perihelion, generic equivalents based on apsis, and related but rarer terms. ...

A launch vehicle can move from LEO to GTO by firing a rocket at a tangent to the LEO to increase its velocity. Typically the upper stage of the vehicle has this function. Once in the GTO, it is usually the satellite itself that performs the conversion to geostationary orbit by firing a rocket at a tangent to the GTO at the apogee. Therefore the capacity of a rocket which can launch various satellites is often quoted in terms of separated spacecraft mass to GTO rather than ditto to GEO. Alternatively the rocket may have the option to perform the boost for insertion into GEO itself. This saves the satellite's fuel, but considerably reduces the separated spacecraft mass capacity. This article is about vehicles powered by rocket engines. ... For other uses, see tangent (disambiguation). ... Geostationary orbit A geostationary orbit (GEO) is a geosynchronous orbit directly above the Earths equator (0Â° latitude), with orbital eccentricity of zero. ...

For example, the capacity (separated spacecraft mass) of the Delta IV Heavy: It has been suggested that some sections of this article be split into a new article entitled Delta IV launches. ...

• GTO 12 757 kg (185 km x 35,786 km at 27.0 deg inclination), theoretically more than any other currently available launch vehicle (has not flown with such a payload yet)
• GEO 6 276 kg

Usually, insertion into geostationary orbit is performed at the ascending node. This is because most launch sites from which launches into a GTO are performed are located on the northern hemisphere. Geostationary orbit A geostationary orbit (GEO) is a geosynchronous orbit directly above the Earths equator (0Â° latitude), with orbital eccentricity of zero. ...

In most cases, the spent upper stages of launch vehicles are left behind in the GTO (some are occasionally left in GEO, like the Proton Block DM). If the perigee of the GTO is chosen to be low enough to make atmospheric drag quickly decrease apogee altitude, the upper stage will be no collision threat to the satellites in the geostationary ring. Eventually, it will reenter the atmosphere of the Earth. Most upper stages that are used to bring payloads to a GTO are designed to meet this requirement. Perigee is the point at which an object in orbit around the Earth makes its closest approach to the Earth. ... This article is about several astronomical terms (apogee & perigee, aphelion & perihelion, generic equivalents based on apsis, and related but rarer terms. ... The geostationary ring is a volume segment around the geostationary orbit defined by variations in altitude and declination that can occur for uncontrolled objects left in the geostationary orbit. ...

Results from FactBites:

 geosychronous/geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) (338 words) An elliptical orbit, with an apogee (high point) of 35,784 km, a perigee (low point) of a few hundred km, and an inclination roughly equal to the latitude of the launch site, into which a spacecraft is initially placed before being transferred to a geosynchronous or geostationary orbit. After attaining GTO, the spacecrafts apogee kick motor is fired to circularize the orbit and thereby achieve the desired final orbit. By the rocket equation, assuming a (typical) specific impulse of 300 seconds, the fraction of the separated mass consumed by the propellant for the apogee maneuver is 46% from Cape Canaveral, 40% from Kourou, and 39% from the equator.
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