by mukesh kumar on December 7th, 2004

mukesh kumar

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What is the difference between geostationary and geosynchronous satellites?

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  • by Jeremiah Britt on December 7th, 2004

    Jeremiah Britt

    Geostationary is for a satellite to appear to remain perfectly stationary in the sky as seen from earth. In order for this to happen, it's orbital period must perfectly match the earth's 23 hour 56 minute day. As an added qualifier it must also be exactly above the equator (inclination of 0).

    Since to keep a satellite perfectly geostationary for a long amount of time would require too much fuel (in compensation for the gravity fields of other nonstationary bodies, the sun and moon) most satellites are geosynchronous, which allows for some deviation.

    In other words, geostationary is a perfectly spherical soap bubble and geosynchronous is your best attempt to make a ball out of play dough.

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