Medium Earth orbit (MEO), sometimes called intermediate circular orbit (ICO), is the region of space around Earth above low Earth orbit (altitude of 2,000 km (1,243 mi) above sea level) and below geosynchronous orbit (altitude of 35,786 km (22,236 mi) above sea level). Although over 90 percent of all satellites are situated in LEO and GEO (near 36,000 kilometers), the space between the two most popular orbital regimes can be an ideal environment for a smaller subset of satellite systems.

Satellites in Medium Earth Orbit have larger footprints than LEO satellites which means they can see more of the Earth’s surface at any given time, and a lower transmission time time than GEO satellites meaning they have a shorter signal delay because they aren’t as far away from receivers on the Earth.

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