Question

Iridium Communications provides a global communications network that spans the entire earth, using 66 satellites in a near-polar orbit at an altitude of 485 miles. These are known as:

a) Geostationary satellites
b) Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites
c) Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellites
d) Heliocentric satellites

Answer 1

The correct answer is Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites, which is the type of orbit used by Iridium Communications.

Step-by-step explanation:

The correct answer is b) Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites.

Iridium Communications uses 66 satellites in a near-polar orbit at an altitude of 485 miles. These satellites are considered to be in low Earth orbit (LEO). Satellites in LEO have a lower altitude and shorter orbital periods compared to other types of orbits.

Geostationary satellites, choice a, are placed at an altitude of about 22,236 miles and have an orbital period of 24 hours, which allows them to remain fixed relative to Earth's surface. Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellites, choice c, are used by systems like GPS and are placed at an altitude of about 20,000 kilometers. Lastly, heliocentric satellites, choice d, would be in orbit around the sun, not the Earth.