ICO meaning in Academic & Science ?

A medium Earth orbit (MEO) is an Earth-centred orbit with an altitude above a low Earth orbit (LEO) and below a high Earth orbit (HEO) – between 2,000 km (1,243 mi) and 35,786 km (22,236 mi) above sea level).

The boundary between MEO and LEO is an arbitrary altitude chosen by accepted convention whereas the boundary between MEO and HEO is the particular altitude of a geosynchronous orbit, in which a satellite takes 24 hours to circle the Earth, the same period as the Earth’s own rotation. All satellites in MEO have an orbital period of less than 24 hours, with the minimum period (for a circular orbit at the lowest MEO altitude) about 2 hours.

Satellites in MEO orbits are perturbed by solar radiation pressure which is the dominating non-gravitational perturbing force. Other perturbing forces include: Earth's albedo, navigation antenna thrust, and thermal effects related to heat re-radiation.

The MEO region includes the two zones of energetic charged particles above the equator known as the Van Allen radiation belts, which can damage satellites’ electronic systems without special shielding.

A medium Earth orbit is sometimes called mid Earth orbit or intermediate circular orbit (ICO).