re: GTO
True, there are indeed the Van Allen Belts! (Ok, I forgot them)
But it doesn't have to be a long duration flight.
Satellites meant for GEO often take advantage of a rocket that puts them into a Geostationnary Transfer Orbit. GTO goes from LEO to GEO and back to LEO and so on. That's where Hipparcos got stuck.
Of course, they'd cross the Van Allen Belts but it would be a test flight, not an endurance one.
A 17 degrees Earth is 34 times bigger than the Moon as seen from Earth or 9 times the Earth as seen from the Moon. It sure would be very impressive!