An orbit in which the period of a satellite is exactly the same as the rotation of the Earth (23 hours 56 minutes 4 seconds). This means for a satellite located above the equator it appears stationary in the sky as seen from the ground. The orbital distance is 35,786 kilometres (22,236 miles) above sea level.
British science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke is credited with proposing the notion of using geostationary orbits for communications satellites.
