Near-Earth object atmosphere, passing Earth's surface only away (about one Earth radius or one-sixtieth of the distance to the Moon). Because it was very small (6 meters/20 feet), FU was detected only hours before its closest approach. If it had collided with Earth, it probably would have disintegrated harmlessly in the atmosphere. On February 4, 2011, an asteroid designated , estimated at in diameter, passed within of the Earth, setting a new record for closest approach without impact, which still stands . On November 8, 2011, asteroid , relatively large at about in diameter, passed within (0.85 lunar distances) of Earth. On
Medium Earth orbit constellations. Communications satellites that cover the North and South Pole are also put in MEO. The orbital periods of MEO satellites range from about 2 to nearly 24 hours. Telstar 1, an experimental satellite launched in 1962, orbited in MEO. The orbit is home to a number of artificial satellites. Medium Earth orbit Medium Earth orbit (MEO), sometimes called intermediate circular orbit (ICO), is the region of space around Earth above low Earth orbit (altitude of above sea level) and below geostationary orbit (altitude of above sea level). The most common use for satellites in this region is for navigation,