Why Low-Earth Orbit Satellites Are the New Space Race

In a world divided between digital haves and have-nots, billionaires Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos are trying to close the gap. The two entrepreneurs separately aim to launch thousands of small satellites to zip around the globe in what’s known as low-Earth orbit, or LEO. Their plan is to offer high-end internet coverage for clients like governments, mining companies and shipping conglomerates, as well as providing it to regions too remote or poor to install it on the ground. Startup costs are in the billions of dollars.

LEO satellites operate from 500 kilometers (311 miles) to 2,000 kilometers above the Earth’s surface. Traditional communication satellites are stationed far higher, at roughly 36,000 kilometers, and travel in so-called geosynchronous orbits, moving at the speed of the Earth’s rotation and appearing to float motionless above a fixed point.