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[[image]] How to Describe an Orbit
Now that we know that the space shuttle is in a nearly circular orbit around the Earth, we need some ways of describing what the orbit looks like in space. The following parameters will be used to de-scribe the size, orientation, and location of the shuttle's orbit.
Orbital Plane
If you draw a circle on a piece of paper, the circle represents the orbit and the piece of paper is the orbital plane. The orbital plane always passes through the center of the Earth.
Inclination
The orientation of an orbit is described by an angle called the inclination. The inclination gives the tilt of the orbital plane with respect to a plane that contains the Earth's equator, The highest latitude reached by a body in orbit is equal to its inclination. This means that when the body reaches the northernmost point in its orbit, its latitude will equal the inclination of the orbit. Similarly, when it reaches the southernmost point in its orbit, its latitude will equal its inclination in degrees South.
Example:
The inclination of an orbit in the same plane as the Earth's equator is 0°.
The inclination of an orbit in a plane containing both the North and South Poles is 90°.
| [[image]] | Orbital Plane | Important Facts About the Inclination of the Shuttle's Orbit: |
| [[image]] | Inclination | | On STS-81, the shuttle will launch into an orbit with an inclination of 51.6°. There-fore, during STS-81, the shuttle will never go further North than 51.6°N or further South than 51.6°S.

Transcription Notes:
mentions of orbital plane, inclination adn teh sentence "the highest latitude reached by a body in orbit is equal to its inclination" are in bold.