OVERVIEW
Low Earth Orbit (LEO)
The region of orbits a few hundred kilometres above Earth, used by stations, crewed spacecraft, and many satellites.
BodyLow Earth Orbit (LEO)
Contents
living encyclopedia entry4 sections · 1 images · 1 sources · 1 linksupdated · 6 Sept 2026#nizka-obezna-draha-leo#bodies
Low Earth orbit, commonly called LEO, is the most accessible region of space. It is where the first orbital flights, spacecraft rendezvous, spacewalks, and long-duration station crews were demonstrated.
LEO is not a single altitude or a single orbit. The choice of a particular orbit depends on inclination, altitude, launch-vehicle capability, atmospheric drag, and mission purpose. For human spaceflight it is essential infrastructure for further expeditions.
KEY CONTEXT
- Atmospheric drag in LEO gradually lowers the orbit of objects without periodic corrections.
- The ISS operates in low Earth orbit.
- Reaching LEO primarily requires gaining high horizontal velocity.
SOURCES & FURTHER READINGlast verified · 6 September 2026
◉ NASA photography — public domain✦ AI illustration — marked, generated from sourcesarticle text — CC-BY-SA
RELATED ARTICLES
LINKS HERE
Apollo 7Apollo 9Apollo–SoyuzArianeCrew Dragon Demo-1Crew Dragon Demo-2 — first crewed flightFalcon 9Falcon Heavy Demonstration MissionFreedom 7Friendship 7Gemini 4Gemini 5Gemini 8International Space Station (ISS)Long MarchSoyuzSpace ShuttleSputnik 1StarshipSTS-1STS-135STS-31Voskhod 2Vostok 1 — The First Human in SpaceVostok 6
CONNECTION GRAPH