The orbit of geostationary satellites is:

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1. A geostationary satellite stays above the same point on Earth.

2. To remain fixed over one longitude it must orbit in the equatorial plane (inclination $0^\circ$).

3. It must also have an orbital period equal to Earth's rotation, $24\ 	ext{hours}$, so speed and distance stay constant.

4. This requires a circular orbit at about $35{,}786\ 	ext{km}$ altitude. So the orbit is **circular equatorial**.

FINAL_ANSWER: c

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