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v1.1.1
Free engineering tool

GEO Satellite Look Angle Calculator

Enter a ground-site latitude and longitude plus a geostationary orbital longitude to estimate true-north azimuth, idealized elevation, longitude separation, and horizon visibility.

Calculations run locally in your browser. Coordinates are only placed in the URL when you choose to copy a share link.

Planning Tool: GEO Look Angles

deg
deg
deg

AZIMUTH

126.1°

ELEVATION

46.0°

Longitude separation

29.8°

Earth-centre angle

38.0°

Idealized visibility

Above idealized horizon

Idealized geometric estimate for a geostationary position on a spherical Earth. It is not live coverage, polarization/skew, an obstruction check, or pointing authorization. Verify the spacecraft position, datum, operator instructions, and site survey.

Sharing puts the three coordinates in the URL. CSV generation and all calculations run in this browser; the tool does not upload these inputs.

Transparent geometry

The calculation uses a spherical Earth and a circular geostationary orbit. Azimuth is measured clockwise from true north; elevation is measured above the idealized local horizon.

Earth radius
6,378.137 km
GEO orbital radius
42,164 km

Reading the result

Use the results as a reproducible planning estimate, then verify them against current spacecraft and site information.

  • Azimuth gives the horizontal direction clockwise from true north.
  • Elevation gives the idealized vertical angle above the local horizon.
  • A non-positive elevation marks a geometrically unavailable GEO position in this model.

Planning boundary

This is a geometry tool, not a coverage, link-budget, or pointing-authorization system.

  • No ellipsoid, terrain height, atmospheric refraction, or orbital drift correction.
  • No obstruction, antenna mechanics, polarization skew, weather, or interference assessment.
  • Confirm ephemeris, beam coverage, licensing, operator instructions, and a site survey before deployment.