Answer:
Explanation:
• Orbital Radius,:
We are already told that the altitude of the satellite is 300,000 meters. Having this information in hand, it is easy to find the radius of orbit using the following relation:
[tex]R_{\text{satellite}}=A+R_{\text{earth}}[/tex]where A is the altitude.
Now we know that A = 300,000 m and earth radius = 6.37 * 10^6 m; therefore, the orbital radius of the satellite is
[tex]R_{\text{satellite}}=3\cdot10^6+6.37\cdot10^6[/tex][tex]\boxed{R_{\text{satellite}}=9.37\times10^6m}[/tex]which is our answer!
• Velocity:
We are told that the velocity of the satellite is given by
[tex]v=\sqrt[]{G\frac{m_E}{R_{\text{satellite}}}}[/tex]where G is the gravitational constant and m_E is the mass of the earth.
Substituting the numerical values for these constants gives
[tex]v=\sqrt[]{(6.67\times10^{-11})\frac{5.98\times10^{24}}{9.37\times10^6}}[/tex]Using a calculator we evaluate the above to be:
[tex]\boxed{v=6.52\cdot10^3m/s}[/tex]which is around 6.5 km per second!
• Orbital Period:
The orbital period T of the satellite is given by
[tex]T=2\pi\sqrt[]{\frac{R^3_{satellite}}{Gm_E}}[/tex]putting in the numerical values for the constants gives
[tex]T=2\pi\sqrt[]{\frac{(9.37\times10^6)^3}{(6.67\times10^{-11})(5.98\times10^{24})}}[/tex][tex]\boxed{T=9024s\approx2.5hr}[/tex]Hence, the period of satellites orbit is only 2.5 hours! This means that we can see the same satellite multiple times in the night sky if it is observable!
• Orbital Path:
The problem with satellites is that since they are travelling so fast, they don't get to observe one location on earth for a long time. One solution to this is to place the satellites into something called the geosynchronous orbit. In such an orbit, the period of the satellite matches the earth's period of rotation. This way, when observed from the earth, the satellite looks stationary, but in fact, it is travelling with the earth in the same orbital period. Such a satellite can be launched to observe locations along the arctic and the antarctic circles to obtain substantial data.