[amsat-bb] Re: Equatorial LEO

[Richard@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Richard W L Limebear)]

>I shall be grateful if you will give your views, merit and demerits of an
>equatorial orbit and,  if piutting a satellite in equatorial orbit would
>pose any special problems.
>
>There is a feeling that polar and inclined orbits have been used for
>several decades. Tropical countries around the equatorial belt are, perhaps
>at a disadvantage from the point of view of currently highly inclined LEO
>satellites because of short and infrequent passes. Your views are
appreciated
>
> >Sangat Singh, 9M2SS

It depends on what you want to do with the satellite.

The *duration* of a single pass generally depends on the altitude of the
orbit; the higher the better.

*How many passes per day* depends on the inclination of the orbit, the 
geographic latitude of the groundstation and, to some extent, the altitude.

For a commercial usage in 9M2 an equatorial orbit would be better because
you will see every orbit ... but do not expect to receive support for
operating such a satellite in the amateur bands.

For amateur radio operations, polar orbits are preferable because everyone 
(worldwide) gets a chance to use the spacecraft.

73
Richard W L Limebear G3RWL
g3rwl@amsat.org
FOC # 1188

          So many beautiful girls ..... (sob) so little time
----
Via the amsat-bb mailing list at AMSAT.ORG courtesy of AMSAT-NA.
To unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe amsat-bb" to Majordomo@amsat.org