Molniya orbit

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A Molniya orbit (Russian: Молния, IPA: [ˈmoɫnʲɪjə] , "Lightning") is a type of satellite orbit designed to provide communications and remote sensing coverage over high latitudes. It is a highly elliptical orbit with an inclination of 63.4 degrees, an argument of perigee of 270 degrees, and an orbital period of about half a sidereal day. The name comes from the Molniya satellites, a series of Soviet/Russian civilian and military communications satellites that have used this type of orbit since the mid-1960s. A variation on the Molniya orbit is the Three Apogee orbit, whose period is a third of a sidereal day. The Molniya orbit has a long dwell time over the hemisphere of interest, while moving very quickly over the other. In practice, this places it over either Russia or Canada for most of its orbit, providing a high angle of view to communications and monitoring satellites covering these high-latitude areas. Geostationary orbits, which are necessarily inclined over the equator, can only...

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