Geostationary orbit
A satellite in geostationary orbit hangs over the same spot on the equator forever — the altitude where an orbit takes exactly one day, matching the Earth's spin. It is the real estate behind satellite TV, weather imaging and global communications.
What is geostationary orbit?
// the factsGEO is a circular orbit at roughly 35,786 km directly above the equator. At that altitude a satellite takes exactly 24 hours to circle the Earth, so it stays fixed over one longitude. From the ground it appears stationary — hence the name.
One satellite, a third of the planet. A geostationary spacecraft can see about a third of Earth's surface continuously, which is why three of them can cover most of the globe for communications. The trade-off is latency: a signal round-trip to GEO takes about half a second.
The belt is managed real estate. Slots above the equator are allocated internationally, and the region also hosts the "graveyard orbit" where retired GEO satellites are parked. The catalogue below lists the objects tracked there.