Satellite Orbits

Low Earth orbit (LEO)

400 to 2,000kms

Medium Earth orbit (MEO)

8,000 to 20,000kms

Geostationary Satellite orbit (GSO)

36,000 kms above the earth
Used for weather monitoring and Direct-To-Home (DTH) television broadcasting

Constellations

While GSO satellites remain largely stationary, LEO and MEO satellites move across the sky during their orbit. Hence, operators deploy a large number of satellites, called ‘constellations’, to provide continuous service from these altitudes.

Latency

most satellite internet services rely on single geostationary satellites orbiting the planet at 35,786 km.

As a result, the round-trip data time between the user and satellite—known as latency—is high, making it nearly impossible to support high-bandwidth activities like streaming, online gaming, or video calls.

Starlink satellites

Starlink boasts a significantly lower latency of around 25 milliseconds compared to over 600 milliseconds for traditional systems.

This is because its constellation of thousands of satellites orbits much closer to Earth, at about 550 km, and covers the entire globe.

Starlink now operational in 100 countries

As of November, 2024, there are 6,764 starlink satellites in orbit

Eutelsat - competitor for Starlink

Eutelsat OneWeb—majority-owned by Bharti Enterprises—Reliance Industries’ JioSpaceFiber, and Amazon’s Kuiper Systems.

Eutelsat OneWeb’s satellite network features more than 630 satellites operating at around 1,200 km in LEO.

Administratively allocating spectrum

In October this year, Union Minister for Communications Jyotiraditya Scindia clarified that spectrum for satellite communication services would be allocated administratively rather than through auction.

Musk described spectrum is administratively allocated globally

Point Nemo

February 2025

Oceanic Pole of Inaccessibility

Point Nemo, located in the South Pacific and also known as the Oceanic Pole of Inaccessibility, is one of the most remote places on Earth, situated approximately 2,688 kilometers from the nearest landmass.
Due to its extreme isolation, the closest human presence is often aboard the International Space Station (ISS) orbiting above.

Spacecraft Cemetery

Additionally, Point Nemo serves as a spacecraft cemetery, where space agencies deliberately direct decommissioned satellites and space stations to safely re-enter Earth’s atmosphere and fall into the ocean, minimizing risks to populated areas.

Navika Sagar Parikrama II

Covering more than 21,600 nautical miles (approx 40,000 km), it will unfold in five legs with stopovers at four ports for replenishment and maintenance.

The five legs are:

Goa to Fremantle, Australia
Fremantle to Lyttleton, New Zealand
Lyttleton to Port Stanley, Falkland
Port Stanley to Cape Town, South Africa
Cape Town to Goa.