Low Arbre Orbit

Low Arbre Orbit refers to low‑altitude paths around Arbre, analogous to a near‑planet “low orbit.” It is used operationally for rapid circling, close to the upper atmosphere, where small payloads can rendezvous and assemble.

First appearance and context

The name is used in‑situ when a suited traveler’s restraint system is deflated and the system announces arrival in space. From this orbit, a cell conducts rendezvous near a metallized balloon amid a widespread cloud of radar‑jamming chaff, coordinating by short‑range links while navigation satellites are reportedly jammed by the Geometers. The aim is to stay hidden from direct observation by the higher craft Daban Urnud.

Characteristics

• Altitude and period: described as skimming just above the atmosphere at roughly a hundred miles, completing a circuit in about an hour and a half.
• Shape: a nearly circular path (eccentricity on the order of one part in a thousand) is maintained so that dispersed payloads keep pace and can be rounded up.
• Plane changes and phasing: small errors in orbital inclination create "wrong‑plane" situations that are costly to correct; rendezvous are timed at the two intersection points where tracks cross.
• Line‑of‑sight windows: because Daban Urnud follows a much higher, more elliptical path (tens of thousands of miles up, with a much longer period), Low Arbre Orbit passes behind the planet regularly, creating privacy intervals out of the craft’s line of sight.

Roles and use in current events

• Staging and assembly: numerous small payloads—some carrying people, others carrying supplies—converge under a balloon to be linked together while masked by chaff. A reflective screen and decoys are prepared here before a departure burn to a higher trajectory.
• Deception and clutter: balloons and chaff salt the near‑orbit environment so that long‑wavelength radar is confused and visual searches are burdened with look‑alikes.
• Observation from orbit: from this altitude, travelers witness kinetic strikes (“rods”) descending toward major equatorial launch facilities on the surface.

Related concepts

• Orbit classes: discussions elsewhere contrast Equatorial Orbits with Polar Orbits; Low Arbre Orbit refers to altitude (how close to the planet) rather than which plane it occupies, and can apply to either.
• Counter‑surveillance geometry: operations in this regime rely on timing work while Arbre blocks line of sight to watchers and on keeping reflective or radiant surfaces oriented away from observers.

Status

Active as a working zone for low‑altitude rendezvous and assembly during the ongoing response to the visitors in orbit. Reports note persistent chaff clouds and decoy balloons, with teams periodically thrusting to remain tucked behind masking objects and out of line of sight.