How many geostationary satellites would it take to cover the earth's surface?

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Eldorado

New member
I've figured via Keplers 3rd law that mean altitude for a satellite is about 42,000Km and subtracting Earth's radius gives an altitude of 35000Km. However, what if you wanted a satellite system to give full coverage of the earth's surface, how can you calculate the number of geostationary satellites needed. Is it possible to cover the entire surface or is their a maximum percentage of Earth;s surface a geostationary system can cover?
 
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dougger

New member
2 is the absolute minimum to cover the earth but the satellites will not be able to contact one another. For full coverage plus let the satellites contact one another the minimum is 3.
 
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