The next frontier in space is closer than you think – welcome to the world of very low Earth orbit satellites
- Written by Sven Bilén, Professor of Engineering Design, Electrical Engineering and Aerospace Engineering, Penn State
The closer a satellite − like this telecommunications one − orbits to Earth, the more atmospheric drag it faces. janiecbros/iStock via Getty Images PlusThere are about 15,000 satellites orbiting the Earth. Most of them, like the International Space Station and the Hubble Telescope, reside in low Earth orbit, or LEO, which tops out at...