Low Earth orbit and geostationary orbit. Diagram of the showing satellites in geostationary orbit and in low Earth orbit. A low Earth orbit (LEO) is an orbit around Earth with an altitude between the Earth's surface and 2,000 kilometres, with an orbital period of between about 84 and 127 minutes. Earth observation satellites, the International Space Station and the Hubble Space Telescope all use low Earth orbits. A geostationary orbit (GEO) is a circular orbit 35,786 kilometres above the Earth's equator and following the direction of the Earth's rotation. This allows the satellite to complete one orbit in the same amount of time as the Earth turns, so the satellite remains stationary over a fixed point on the equator. Communications satellites and weather satellites are often placed in geostationary orbits.