Terminology Continued
Highly Inclined Elliptical orbit- is an elliptic orbit with a low-altitude (often under 1,000 kilometres (540 nmi)) perigee and a high-altitude (often over 35,786 kilometres (19,323 nmi)) apogee.The "highly elliptical" term refers to the shape of the ellipse, and to the eccentricity of the orbit, not to the high apogee altitude.
Geostationary satellite- A satellite that appears to be located at a fixed point in space when viewed from the earth's surface.
Bird- Slang for a communications satellite located in geosynchronous orbit.
Equatorial Orbit- An orbit with a plane parallel to the earth's equator.
Velocity factor- the speed at which radio waves travel in a particular feedline, expressed as a percent of the speed of light.