polar orbit

American  

noun

1. a spacecraft orbit that passes over, or close to, the geographic poles of the earth or some other celestial body.

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polar orbit British  

noun

1. the orbit of a satellite that passes over the poles of a planet

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Etymology

Origin of polar orbit

First recorded in 1960–65

Example Sentences

The satellite will be shot into the "sun-synchronous polar orbit", which means it will pass over the same areas of Earth at a regular interval, observing and mapping changes to our planet's surface, former Nasa scientist Mila Mitra told the BBC.

From BBC

Buzza said the launches are important for the Starlink satellite broadband network SpaceX is building, since they put the satellites into a polar orbit, complementing Florida launches that put them in an equatorial orbit.

From Los Angeles Times

The company said it thinks the rural coast is a good location because it provides launch opportunities over the Atlantic Ocean directly into polar orbit with little interference.

From Seattle Times

SpaceX launched the Pace satellite on its $948 million mission before dawn, with the Falcon rocket heading south over the Atlantic to achieve a rare polar orbit.

From Seattle Times

After being deployed to a highly elliptical Earth orbit, the Chandrayaan-3 orbiter will propel Vikram to and around the moon and then gradually maneuver it into a circular polar orbit 100 kilometers above the lunar surface.

From Scientific American