The next frontier in space is closer than you think – welcome to the world of very low Earth orbit satellites

The next frontier in space is closer than you think – welcome to the world of very low Earth orbit satellites

The closer a satellite − like this telecommunications one − orbits to Earth, the more atmospheric drag it faces. janiecbros/iStock via Getty Images PlusThere are about 15,000 satellites orbiting the Earth. Most of them, like the International Space Station and the Hubble Telescope, reside in low Earth orbit, or LEO, which tops out at about 1,200 miles (2,000 kilometers) above the Earth’s surface. But as more and more satellites are launched into…