On Wed, 17 Dec 1997, Steve Goldstein wrote:
> >First, let's talk about GEOS. GeoSynchonous Orbit satellites are 22,600
> >miles up in the sky. Multiply [sic] by the speed of light, and you get
> >something
> >on the order of 1/8 of a second....
> >
> >Now, let's talk about LEOS. Low Earth Orbit means just that - on the order
> >of a few hundred to 1000 miles up. Multiply [sic] by the speed of light,
> >and you
> >get some amount of time, but not all that much compared to 22,600 miles.
>
> Nice write up, Fred.
>
> Nits: dividing by the speed of light works better than multiplying.
>
> And, I _think_ (the flesh sags, the hair falls out, the memory fails...)
> that the geosynchronous orbit is 22,300 miles. But who's counting?
Geostationary orbit is an altitude of 35,786 _kilometres_ directly
above the equator, _please_ (although that's not really taking the
equatorial bulge into account), and slightly further from higher
latitudes.
When anyone says 'miles' the immediate question 'Do you mean nautical
miles or normal miles?' springs to mind; since quite a lot of
satellite terminal implementation and use is at sea (Inmarsat) this
nitpick is more important than you might otherwise expect.
Sticking with kilometres, as draft-ietf-tcpsat-stand-mech does, is
definitely the best bet, especially for the international audience
that that draft is aimed at. Let them do their own conversions from
a clear standard measurement.
L.
didn't think the 'mile' ever made it onto a standards track. A pox on it.
<[email protected]>PGP<http://www.sat-net.com/L.Wood/>+44-1483-300800x3641
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