Hinchman has given careful attention to the view that the spectrum/ orbit resource is a limited one. He states that "the so-called scarcity of spectrum/orbit resources is emerging as more myth than fact."^ The geostationary orbit "may be considered as a thick, broad band of space lying roughly 22,300 miles above the earth’s surface, directly above and concentric with the equator." The 1971 WARC ST definition is: "A satellite, the circular orbit of which lies in the plane of the Earth's equator and which turns about the polar axis of the Earth in the same direction and with the same period as those of the Earth's rotation." Further, "the orbit on which a satellite should be placed to be a geostationary satellite is called the 'geostationary satellite orbit.'" Such space objects are not all in the same circular orbit in the plane of the Earth's equator. Their pattern in space "is an annulus-like three-dimensional corridor in which satellites travel at different speeds, altitudes and inclinations to the plane of the Earth's equator." Thus, while geostationary space objects "tend to group into segments along the geostationary orbit, these enormous volumes [of space occupied per satellite] reduce the possibility of collision to a negligible level. Generally, the availability of physical space is not a matter of concern. Orbit limitation is a problem of electromagnetic interference between Ibid., p. 51. Ibid., p. 52. Paragraph 84BG, Annex 1, Revision of Article 1 of the Radio Regulations, 23 UST 1527, 1579, TIAS 7435. James J. Gehrig, "Geostationary Orbit—Technology and Law," Proceedings of the 19th Colloquium on the Law of Outer Space 268 (1977).
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