The term ‘satellite orbit’ refers to the trajectory of a satellite around the Earth. This is governed by the Earth’s gravitational field and influenced by additional forces, such as atmospheric drag, solar radiation pressure and gravitational perturbations from the Moon and Sun. Accurate determination of the orbit is essential for satellite geodesy, since this information is used to derive geodetic products such as gravity field models, reference frames and Earth orientation parameters. The precise orbits of the satellites in Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) are essential for the reliable provision of satellite-based services, including positioning, navigation and timing (PNT), as well as for Earth Observation and remote sensing applications. Errors in satellite orbits and related information can result in degraded performance of operational services, including inaccurate positioning, failed navigation and inconsistent timing. Such errors can also propagate into Earth Observation products, affecting applications such as sea-level monitoring, estimation of terrestrial water storage and ice-sheet observations. GNSS code and carrier-phase biases are crucial for high-precision positioning techniques, such as Precise Point Positioning with Ambiguity Resolution (PPP-AR). They also enable non-navigation applications, including ionosphere and thermosphere analysis and precise time transfer. Precise satellite orbits are also a core requirement for Earth Observation and remote sensing satellite missions, because almost all geophysical products depend on knowing the satellite’s position and velocity with high accuracy in space and time. Even small orbit errors can translate into large-scale geolocation shifts or can propagate into biased geophysical retrievals. Therefore, precise Earth Observation and remote sensing satellite orbits are indispensable for accurate geolocation, unbiased geophysical retrievals, long-term consistency, and reliable integration of multi-satellite datasets. Without high-precision orbit determination, many Earth Observation products would lose both scientific reliability and operational value. The following geodetic products are key to realising, monitoring and applying this Essential Geodetic Variable: