Low orbit, also called tight orbit or close orbit (as in close parking orbit or close planet orbit), was a low altitude orbit of an object above a planetary body or a star, circling over the same point many times a day. Most manmade objects in Earth orbit were located in low orbit – typically found from just outside the thermosphere up to an altitude of 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles).
During the 2151 visit to the Akaali homeworld, Enterprise NX-01 was put in to a low orbit of 500 kilometers where, with their imaging technology, they were able to get close up views of the planet's surface. (ENT: "Civilization")
In 2269, Spock detailed to Abraham Lincoln that the USS Enterprise was 643 miles, 2,021 feet, 2.04 inches (just over 1,030 kilometers) above the surface of Excalbia. (TOS: "The Savage Curtain")
The orbital supply stations used by the Nezu at their colony planet located in the Delta Quadrant were located well outside the ionosphere of their planet, at an altitude of over 300 kilometers from the surface. (VOY: "Rise")
| Orbits |
|---|
| Circular orbit • Decaying orbit • Elliptical orbit • Equatorial orbit • High orbit • Low orbit • Polar orbit • Standard orbit • Stationary orbit • Sub-orbit • Synchronous orbit |
| Lagrange point • Tidal locking |