The orbit used by a spacecraft as a waiting position between two phases, for example before it begins a new trajectory. A space shuttle might go into a parking orbit, circling the globe in a low Earth orbit (LEO) until it deploys a payload to a higher orbit. Apollo 11 reached an Earth parking orbit in 11 minutes and completed 1.5 orbits before its Saturn thrusters sent it towards the Moon with the first crew to land there.