Satellite Internet Latency & Link Budget

A single satellite orbits the Earth while a fixed ground station waits below — the exact geometry every satellite-internet system depends on. As the satellite rises, passes overhead and sets, this simulator computes the real slant-range distance, elevation angle, round-trip latency and free-space path loss from orbital mechanics, live, at whatever altitude you choose. Switch between a 550 km low-Earth orbit, an 8,000 km medium orbit and a 35,786 km geostationary orbit to see the fundamental trade-off of the industry: low orbits are fast but need constant satellite handoffs, while geostationary orbits are always overhead but pay a fixed, unavoidable speed-of-light latency tax.