How high are communication satellites?
Like weather satellites, communication satellites (radio, telephone, and television) orbit the planet at an altitude of 22,223 miles (35,786 km) above the Earth. This orbit is referred to as geostationary or geosynchronous because at this altitude a satellite orbits the earth at the same speed as the Earth’s own rotation, roughly once every 24 hours. Being synchronized, a satellite appears to be stationary above the same Earth-based location. In the article titled “How Satellites Work,” the friendly experts at How Stuff Works explain that “communications satellites are essentially radio relay stations in space,” sharing a congested area directly over the equator and about one-tenth of the way to the moon with hundreds of television, weather, and communications satellites. Geosynchronous satellites must
