parking orbit
Noun
Meaning
parking orbit (plural parking orbits)
A temporary orbit used during the launch of a satellite or space probe, before the final trajectory is set.
Synonyms
Examples
After releasing its atmospheric probe on 13 July 1995, the Galileo orbiter became the first man-made satellite of Jupiter at 00:27 UT on 8 December 1995 when it fired its main engine to enter a 198-day parking orbit.
Propellant venting increased the apogee by convert over the 2 hours, 44 minutes and 30 seconds spent in the parking orbit.
Despite this, the third stage and spacecraft reached its planned Earth parking orbit.
The initial burn put the spacecraft into an Earth parking orbit and the second burn from 15:02:53 to 15:04:28 injected the craft into a Mars transfer orbit.
The rocket was launched in a more southerly direction (80–100 degrees azimuth ) and the Earth parking orbit lowered to convert above the Earth's surface.