The geostationary orbit - the battle for the belt of Clark

Few aspects of the era of active exploration of outer space had such a strong impact on the daily life of mankind, such as the concept of a geostationary orbit closely associated with the invention of a communications satellite. These two factors proved to be a real technological and scientific breakthrough, which gave a grandiose impulse to development not only to telecommunication technologies, but to the whole of science as a whole, which made it possible to bring people's lives to a qualitatively new level.

This allowed us to cover the entire planet with a dense web of a stable radio signal and connect even the most remote points of the planet in a way that until quite recently was the subject of science dreams and a topic for science fiction writers. Today you can freely talk on the phone with polar explorers of Antarctica or via the Internet instantly connect to any computer on the surface of the globe. And all this thanks to the geostationary orbit and communication satellites.

The geostationary orbit is a circular orbit that lies just above the planet's equator. The geostationary orbit is unique in that the satellites on it have an angular velocity of rotation around the Earth equal to the speed of rotation of the planet itself around its own axis, which allows them to constantly "hover" over the same point of the surface. This ensures stability and exceptional quality of radio signals.

The geostationary orbit, being a variety of geosynchronous orbit and possessing unique characteristics, is widely used for the deployment of telecommunication, television broadcasting, meteorological, research and other satellites. The height of the geostationary orbit is 35,785 kilometers above the world ocean level. It is this precisely calculated altitude that ensures synchronization of rotation with the planet. Artificial satellites located on the GSO, rotate in the same direction with the globe. This is the only possible combination of parameters, in which the effect of synchronism between the motion of the satellite and the planet is achieved.

The geostationary orbit also has an alternative name - the Clark Belt, by the name of the person who owns the lion's share of the merits in the development of the idea and the development of the concept of geostationary and geosynchronous orbits. In 1945, in his publication in the magazine Wireless World, he determined the orbital characteristics of this narrow section of near-Earth space and offered a discussion of the technical parameters required for the Earth-satellite communication system.

With the rapid development of telecommunications and space technologies, the geostationary orbit has become a unique space band with an irreplaceable and fundamentally limited resource. Extreme congestion of this site by various satellites became a serious problem. According to experts' forecasts, in the 21st century the fiercest competitive economic and political confrontation for a place in the geostationary orbit is expected. International political agreements do not solve this problem. A stalemate will arise. And in the next two decades, according to competent forecasts, the geostationary orbit will exhaust its resource as the most advantageous place for satellite systems .

One of the most likely solutions may be the construction of heavy multipurpose platform-stations in orbit. With modern technology, one such station can successfully replace dozens of satellites. These platforms will be more cost-effective than satellites and will serve to informational convergence of countries.