A Geostationary Satellite is any satellite which is placed in a geostationary orbit. Satellites in geostationary orbit maintain a constant position relative to the surface of the earth. Geostationary satellites do this by orbiting the earth approximately 22,300 miles above the equator. This orbital path is called the Clarke Belt, in honor of Arthur C. Clarke. In other words, if a satellite in a geostationary orbit is in a certain place above the earth, it will stay in that same spot above the earth. Its latitude stays at zero and its longitude remains constant.

Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) refers to a satellite which orbits the earth at an altitude below 22,300 miles (geostationary orbit) and above the altitude of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites. Medium Earth Orbit represents a series of tradeoffs between geostationary orbit (GEO) and Low Earth Orbit (LEO). Medium Earth Orbit enables a satellite provider to cover the earth with fewer satellites than Low Earth Orbit, but requires more satellites to do so that geostationary orbit.

Low Earth Orbit (LEO) refers to a satellite which orbits the earth at altitudes between (very roughly) 200 miles and 930 miles. Low Earth Orbit satellites must travel very quickly to resist the pull of gravity -- approximately 17,000 miles per hour. Because of this, Lowe Earth Orbit satellies can orbit the planet in as little as 90 minutes. Low Earth Orbit satellite systems require several dozen satellites to provide coverage of the entire planet. Low Earth Orbit satellites typically operate in polar orbits. Low Earth Orbit satellites are used for applications where a short Round Trip Time (RTT) is very important, such as Mobile Satellite Services (MSS). Low Earth Orbit satellites have a typical service life expectancy of five to seven years.

The Feedhorn is the part of a satellite dish system which gathers the reflected signal from the dish and focuses it towards the LNB.

A polar orbit is an orbit where the satellite travels in a North to South direction instead of the common West to East orbit. Because the earth spins in an Easterly direction, a polar orbit will eventually cover every possible combination of latitude and longitude. This makes polar orbits very useful for satellites which monitor the earth, such as weather satellites and geographical survey satellites. Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites often utilize a polar orbit.

An LNB - Low Noise Block (also called an LNC- Low Noise Converter), is used for communications (broadcast) satellite reception. The LNB is usually affixed either in or on the satellite dish. The purpose of the LNB is to utilize the super heterodyne effect; and amplify and convert a wide block (band) of frequencies. This helps compensate the signal loss associated with typical coaxial cable at relatively high frequencies. The term 'low noise' relates to the quality of the 1st stage input amplifier transistor, measured in either called Noise Temperature units, Noise Figure units or Noise Factor units. Both Noise Factor and Noise Figure are easily converted into Noise Temperature units. A lower Noise Temperature rating is always better (i.e. an LNB with a Noise Temperature of 100K is 2x as good as one rated 200K).

Downlink is the signal path from a satellite towards the earth.

An LNBF is an LNB with an integrated feedhorn. Most LNB's in use today are actually LNBF's.