Tundra orbit

Ground track of three satellites of the Sirius Satellite Radio constellation in a tundra orbit

Tundra orbit is a type of highly elliptical geosynchronous orbit with a high inclination (usually near 63.4°) and an orbital period of one sidereal day (almost 24 hours). A satellite placed in this orbit spends most of its time over a chosen area of the Earth, a phenomenon known as apogee dwell.

These are conceptually similar to Molniya orbits which have the same inclination but half the period (about 12 hours). The only current user of tundra orbits is Sirius Satellite Radio, which operates a constellation of three satellites.

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Types

General	Box · Capture · Circular · Elliptical / Highly elliptical · Escape · Graveyard · Hyperbolic trajectory · Inclined / Non-inclined · Osculating · Parabolic trajectory · Parking · Synchronous (semi · sub)

Geocentric	Geosynchronous · Geostationary · Sun-synchronous · Low Earth · Medium Earth · Molniya · Near-equatorial · Orbit of the Moon · Polar · Tundra

Other	Areosynchronous · Areostationary · Halo · Lissajous · Lunar · Heliocentric · Heliosynchronous

Parameters

Classical				Other
$i\,\!$	Inclination	$\omega\,\!$	Argument of periapsis	$\nu\,$	True anomaly	$L\,$	Mean longitude
$\Omega\,\!$	Longitude of the ascending node	$a\,\!$	Semi-major axis	$b\,$	Semi-minor axis	$l\,$	True longitude
$e\,\!$	Eccentricity	$M_o\,\!$	Mean anomaly at epoch	$\epsilon\,$	Linear eccentricity	$T\,$	Orbital period
				$E\,$	Eccentric anomaly

Maneuvers

Bi-elliptic transfer · Geostationary transfer · Gravity assist · Hohmann transfer · Inclination change · Phasing · Rendezvous · Transposition, docking, and extraction