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Low Earth Orbit
Low Earth Orbit (LEO) is a type of earth orbits. The space shuttle flies in a low Earth
orbit. Orbit altitude varies from 100-300 miles above the Earth's surface. (Communication
satellites orbit at approximately 25,000 miles from Earth.) It takes about 90 minutes for
the shuttle to complete one orbit around the globe, so it can complete 16-17 orbits in one
day. On a relative scale, the shuttle orbits the Earth very close to the ground.
The radius of the Earth is approximately 4000 miles, or about 40 times larger than the
distance to the shuttle. (On a relative scale, if the Earth was the size of a basketball, the
shuttle would orbit at a thumbnail's distance from the ball's surface.)
NOTE: An object in Low Earth Orbit is an elliptical orbit. (A circular orbit is just a special
case of an elliptical orbit.)
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