A transatmospheric orbit (TAO) is an orbit around a celestial body in which a portion of the orbit intersects with the defined atmosphere. Transatmospheric Earth orbits generally use the FAI defined

Kármán line The Kármán line (or von Kármán line ) is a conventional definition of the Outer space#Boundary, edge of space; it is widely but not universally accepted. The international record-keeping body Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, FAI ( ...

of 100 km (62 miles) altitude to differentiate between transatmospheric Earth orbits or low Earth orbits but altitudes such as the U.S. defined 50 mi (80 km) line may be used. Such orbits are subject to significant

atmospheric drag In fluid dynamics, drag, sometimes referred to as fluid resistance, is a force acting opposite to the direction of motion of any object moving with respect to a surrounding fluid. This can exist between two fluid layers, two solid surfaces, or b ...

, causing rapid

orbital decay Orbital decay is a gradual decrease of the distance between two orbiting bodies at their closest approach (the periapsis) over many orbital periods. These orbiting bodies can be a planet and its satellite, a star and any object orbiting it, or ...

if left unchecked. A number of

artificial satellites A satellite or an artificial satellite is an object, typically a spacecraft, placed into orbit around a celestial body. They have a variety of uses, including communication relay, weather forecasting, navigation (GPS), broadcasting, scientifi ...

have been placed into transatmospheric Earth orbits, usually due to a

launch vehicle A launch vehicle is typically a rocket-powered vehicle designed to carry a payload (a crewed spacecraft or satellites) from Earth's surface or lower atmosphere to outer space. The most common form is the ballistic missile-shaped multistage ...

malfunction. Such satellites include EOS 02 and AzaadiSAT, which were deployed into a 76 km x 356 km (47 mi x 221 mi) transatmospheric orbit due to an upper stage malfunction on the

SSLV The Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) is a small-lift launch vehicle developed by the ISRO, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to deliver payload to low Earth orbit () or payload to Sun-synchronous orbit (). The rocket supports mu ...

rocket. Transatmospheric orbits have limited practical applications because objects placed into such orbits are subject to rapid

. One such application was used to test the reentry of the IXV spaceplane. It was launched into a 76 km x 416 km orbit (47 mi x 258 mi) transatmospheric orbit. The

Boeing Starliner The Boeing Starliner (or CST-100) is a spacecraft designed to transport crew to and from the International Space Station (ISS) and other low-Earth-orbit destinations. Developed by Boeing under NASA's Commercial Crew Program (CCP), it consists o ...

spacecraft is placed in a transatmospheric orbit by the

Atlas V Atlas V is an expendable launch system and the fifth major version in the Atlas (rocket family), Atlas launch vehicle family. It was developed by Lockheed Martin and has been operated by United Launch Alliance (ULA) since 2006. Primarily used to ...

launcher. It uses its onboard propulsion to go to LEO to reach the

International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is a large space station that was Assembly of the International Space Station, assembled and is maintained in low Earth orbit by a collaboration of five space agencies and their contractors: NASA (United ...

Astrobotic Technology Astrobotic Technology, Inc., commonly referred to as Astrobotic, is an American private company that is developing space robotics technology for lunar and planetary missions. It was founded in 2007 by Carnegie Mellon professor Red Whittaker a ...

's ''Peregrine'' lunar lander was moved to a transatmospheric orbit following a fuel leak to avoid becoming hazardous

space debris Space debris (also known as space junk, space pollution, space waste, space trash, space garbage, or cosmic debris) are defunct human-made objects in spaceprincipally in Earth orbitwhich no longer serve a useful function. These include dere ...

References

{{Orbits Earth orbits Orbits

See also

References