A
Standard orbit is a term from
Star Trek: TOS. Whenever the
Enterprise approaches a planet they are interested in,
Kirk orders the
helm to 'assume standard orbit.' This is not a circular or
stationary orbit, but rather a highly
elliptical one. The purpose of this is to maintain the maximum possible
communications window with any landing parties; as a result, the
apogee of the orbit is directly above the
landing party's position. Thus the ship will spend the maximum amount of time '
over the horizon' and able to communicate with/
transport the landing party.
Stationary orbit would work as well unless the landing party was at extreme north or south
latitude, in which case the range would be maximized.
If the ship is doing surface scans or mapping, they probably use the same method our current spy satellites and planetary mapping missions like Mars Global Surveyor do, and use polar orbits. These north to south paths allow the ship to pass over every point of the planet in minimal time.