Question

The period of time that elapses between the successive passes of the satellite over a given meridian of earth longitude is called as _____________

(a) synodic period

(b) Lapsed time

(c) Time period

(d) Sidereal period

I have been asked this question during a job interview.

The origin of the question is Satellite Orbits topic in portion Satellite Communication of Avionics

Answer 1

Correct answer is (a) synodic period

Explanation: Another method of expressing the time for one orbit is the revolution or synodic period. One revolution (1 r) is the period of time that elapses between the successive passes of the satellite over a given meridian of earth longitude. Naturally, the synodic and sidereal periods differ from each other because of the earth’s rotation.