---
title: "What are the conditions for a satellite to be stationary?"  
description: "What are the conditions for a satellite to be stationary?"  
author: "samay srivastava"  
published: 2018-03-09  
canonical: https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/37644/what-are-the-conditions-for-a-satellite-to-be-stationary  
category: "science"  
tags: ["physics"]  
reading_time: 2 minutes  

---

# What are the conditions for a satellite to be stationary?

What are the [conditions](https://www.mindstick.com/blog/394/javascript-if-else) for a [satellite](https://www.mindstick.com/articles/333321/satellite-communication-enabling-global-connectivity-from-space) to be stationary?

## Answers

### Answer by Sanjay Goenka

For any of the [**Satellites**](https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/94140/where-are-communication-satellites-placed), **the conditions to be in a stationary state is to revolve around that planet as same with the speed as the planet has**. Now we can take the example of **earth and its Satellites** that are present in its outer orbits and will discuss some of the other conditions. \
![What are the conditions for a satellite to be stationary?](https://answers.mindstick.com/questionanswer/aac34578-2ac9-4def-aaba-6928f1aea485/images/6ee19d02-e4b1-4e6e-b044-a473cb51031c.gif)\
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**Conditions of a geostationary Satellite** The Satellite **should rotate with the rotation of the earth** and the **inclination** of the Satellite should be **Zero** in the same sense with the earth’s rotation. It is either **west or east**. The **position of the Satellite** must be above **some distance from the earth.** \
The **Satellites period of revolution must be identical to the planet** in that case it should be identical with the revolution of the earth. Which inaccurate way it is **23hrs and 56 minutes** but in general we usually called it **24 hrs.** \
The **trajectory of the Satellite must be circular** and the Satellite must revolve in the **earth’s equatorial plane** about the axis of the rotation of the earth and as above explained that the inclination should be Zero. Here it means the axis of the circular Satellite must be along the axis of the center of the earth. \

## Read More: [Which Country Has the Highest Number of Satellites?](https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/33319/which-country-has-the-highest-number-of-satellites)

\
**What is a geostationary Satellite?** The **Geostationary Satellite is an object in space that looks stationary** in the **geosynchronous equatorial orbit (GEO)** of the earth. The distance of the geosynchronous **orbit is 35,786 km above the earth’s** equator and follows the rotation of the earth. \
All the **communication Satellites are placed in the geostationary orbit** so that the Satellite antennas don’t have to rotate to track the Satellite in all directions. **These Satellites seem to be fixed when watched from the ground of earth.** \

## Read More : [Where are Remote Sensing Satellites Placed?](https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/94141/where-are-remote-sensing-satellites-placed)


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Original Source: https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/37644/what-are-the-conditions-for-a-satellite-to-be-stationary

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