Presuming a flat surface of 200 X 200, and a random line across half of that, and presuming that satellites only communicate with nearest neighbours you can guesstimate that the extra distance is significant (ignoring other factors).
If they can communicate with more distant satellites then distance could decrease (short cut segments around great circle).
Presuming a flat surface of 200 X 200, and a random line across half of that, and presuming that satellites only communicate with nearest neighbours you can guesstimate that the extra distance is significant (ignoring other factors).
If they can communicate with more distant satellites then distance could decrease (short cut segments around great circle).