📘 Definition
Low Earth Orbit (LEO) is defined as an orbit with an altitude between approximately 200 km and 2,000 km above Earth's surface. Orbital periods range from about 90 to 127 minutes. LEO is the most populated orbital regime, home to the ISS (~420 km), Starlink (~480–550 km), and most Earth observation satellites. The proximity to Earth provides low communication latency and high imaging resolution, but satellites experience atmospheric drag requiring periodic orbit maintenance. See Types of Orbits.