What is a Low Earth Orbit?
A low Earth orbit is an orbit from roughly 100 to 1240 miles (160-2000km) above the Earth’s surface. Nearly all human spaceflight has taken place in the low Earth orbit, with a few notable exceptions. A great number of satellites are also in a low Earth orbit, as is the International Space Station. In fact, what many people think of as space from photographs is still well within a low Earth orbit. The low Earth orbit itself is roughly contained by the innermost Van Allen radiation belt, which is held in place by the Earth’s geomagnetic field. There is some overlap between low Earth orbit and the Van Allen belt, with some satellites residing in the belt. The inner Van Allen radiation belt itself actually poses difficulties to satellite operation, because satellites have to be shielded against the high energy levels present. There is a proposal to drain the energy from this belt down substantially, reducing the amount of shielding that would be necessary, as well as the danger posed to h
