A geostationary satellite completes how many degrees of rotation around the Earth in 24 hours?

Correct answer: 360°. A geostationary satellite completes a full 360° rotation in 24 hours, the same as the Earth, so it stays above one point.

Background: A geostationary satellite orbits about 35,786 km above the equator and takes 24 hours for one orbit, the same time the Earth takes to rotate once (360°).

• 120°: 120° is only a third of a full rotation.
• 180°: 180° is only half a rotation.
• 270°: 270° is only three-quarters of a rotation.

Did you know? Pakistan’s communications satellite PakSat-1R is in geostationary orbit.

Memory trick: Geostationary = stays still above one spot → one 360° turn per 24 hours.