In the aerospace context, GSO stands for Geostationary Orbit, it is an orbit around the Earth in which a satellite orbits at the same rate as the Earth's rotation, allowing it to remain fixed over a single location on the surface of the Earth.
A geostationary orbit is located about 36,000 km (22,000 miles) above the Earth's equator,
Examples of GSO satellites include:
- Communications satellites, which are used for television, telephone, and internet transmissions. Many of these satellites are placed in geostationary orbit to provide coverage over large areas of the Earth's surface.
- Weather satellites, which are used to monitor and predict weather patterns around the Earth.
- Earth observation satellites, which are used to observe and study the Earth's surface, atmosphere and oceans.
- Navigation satellites, such as GPS, Galileo, and GLONASS, which are used to determine the location of objects on Earth.
Due to the properties of GSO, it is especially useful for these types of applications because the satellite can stay over a fixed location on the Earth. This allows the satellite to remain in continuous communication with ground stations and to continuously observe the same area of the Earth's surface, making it possible to have a continuous monitoring of weather, for instance, and to have a seamless communication services. The GSO is also useful for the military and civilian applications that require constant and reliable communication and surveillance capabilities.