Perigee
Perigee is the point in an orbit around Earth where the satellite is closest to the planet.
It is the counterpart of apogee, the farthest point, and a satellite travels fastest as it swings through perigee.
For a body orbiting the Sun or Moon the equivalent terms are perihelion and periapsis.
See it live on Cosmik
Related terms
- Apogee — Apogee is the point in an orbit around Earth where the satellite is farthest from the planet.
- HEO — A highly elliptical orbit (HEO) is a stretched, egg-shaped orbit with a low perigee and a very high apogee, letting a satellite linger for hours over one hemisphere.
- Atmospheric reentry — Atmospheric reentry is the return of a spacecraft or piece of debris into Earth's atmosphere, where friction and compression heat it to thousands of degrees.
