Major differences between LEO, MEO & GEO satellite systems:

Parameter	LEO	MEO	GEO
Satellite Height	500-1500 km	5000-12000 km	35,800 km
Orbital Period	10-40 minutes	2-8 hours	24 hours
Number of Satellites	40-80	8-20	3
Satellite Life	Short	Long	Long
Number of Handoffs	High	Low	Least(none)
Gateway Cost	Very Expensive	Expensive	Cheap
Propagation Loss	Least	High	Highest

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(Useful for UPSC General Studies, APPSC Group 1 Group 2 , Mains Material, Paper 1, Paper 4 Section 1 Section 2 Section 3, ROLE AND IMPACT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF INDIA, GENERAL AWARENESS WITH THE MODERN TRENDS IN LIFE SCIENCES, DEVELOPMENT & ENVIRONMENT PROBLEMS)