What is Low Earth Orbiting (LEO)?
15 Aug 2016Low Earth Orbiting, also referred to as LEO, refers to the orbit most satellites and other things launched into space (including the Hubble Space Telescope and the International Space Station) settle into when orbiting the earth. The height of LEO is typically between 400 and 1,000 miles above the earth and satellites orbiting earth in low earth orbit are typically used for things like data communication, emails, video conferencing and similar purposes.
Low orbiting satellites are attractive, from a financial perspective, because they provide the easiest, and cheapest, satellite placement, providing the beneficial combination of little time lag for communication and high bandwidth.
LiveView GPS has created a new purpose for these low earth orbit satellites with its new product the Satellite Managed Asset Ready Tracker (SmartOne). SmartOne takes advantage of one of the newest available LEO satellite networks, the Globalstar satellite network. It can be line powered or non-powered, fixed, or even operate using four AAA internal 1.5v lithium batteries.
Users have many options to consider when it comes to reporting intervals. You may choose it to report its location at routine, specified intervals or stick to the standard factory specifications that allow it to report its location once every 24 hours when not in motion and every two hours (or time specified by the user) if it goes into motion at any time during the day.
Users also have the option to set the SmartOne to a reduced messaging mode in order to conserve battery life. In this mode, the SmartOne will reduce the messages it sends when the asset remains in the same location and has not been moved.
Currently, SmartOne is the smallest GPS asset tracker of this nature (being satellite based) that’s known on the market.
There are many benefits to the SmartOne in addition to its size and customizability. One of those benefits is the fact that it is on a worldwide network. This means you can track your assets globally.
The fact that the Globalstar satellite network uses 32 low earth orbiting satellites means that they are closer to the objects being tracked and less susceptible to shading and other problems that interfere with geostationary satellites. The fact that they complete their orbits of the planet in less than two hours means that there will be at least one properly positioned satellite for each of your scheduled transmissions.
This makes GPS tracking via LEO practical and affordable for business entities of all shapes and sizes.
Comments are closed.