Graveyard Orbit

A graveyard orbit (also called a disposal or supersynchronous orbit) is a region approximately 200–300 km above the geostationary belt (36,100 km altitude) where retired GEO satellites are moved at end of life. Deorbiting from GEO to atmospheric re-entry would require an impractical amount of delta-v (1.5 km/s), so instead satellites are boosted slightly higher to clear the operational corridor. The manoeuvre typically requires only 10–15 m/s of delta-v. Passivation — venting remaining fuel and discharging batteries — is also performed to prevent future explosions.