What determines satellite orbital altitude?
Most scientific satellites, including NASA’s Earth Observing System fleet, have a low Earth orbit. The height of the orbit, or distance between the satellite and Earth’s surface, determines how quickly the satellite moves around the Earth. An Earth-orbiting satellite’s motion is mostly controlled by Earth’s gravity.
What is the altitude of geostationary satellite?
35,786 km
A geostationary satellite is in an orbit that can only be achieved at an altitude very close to 35,786 km (22,236 miles) and which keeps the satellite fixed over one longitude at the equator.
How do we measure the distance between satellites and Earth?
F=GMmr2 . Where G=6.67384m3kg⋅s2 is the gravitational constant, M=5.972⋅1024kg is the mass of the Earth, m is the mass of the satellite and r is the distance from the centre if the Earth to the satellite. F=m⋅r⋅ω2 .
How many feet does it take to reach space?
In the US, “space” begins at 80.4km (50 miles), or 264,000 feet. General international consensus sets a similar limit for the start of space as 100km (62 miles), or 380,000 feet.
How many hours does it take this satellite to make one orbit?
To maintain an orbit that is 22,223 miles (35,786 km) above Earth, the satellite must orbit at a speed of about 7,000 mph (11,300 kph). That orbital speed and distance permits the satellite to make one revolution in 24 hours.
What is the speed of a satellite orbiting at that height?
To stay in orbit, a satellite has to travel at a very high velocity, which depends on the height. So, typically, for a circular orbit at a height of 300 km above the Earth’s surface, a speed of 7.8 km/s (28,000 km/h) is needed. At this speed, the satellite will complete one orbit around the Earth in 90 minutes.
How far above Earth is space?
62 miles
Yet the edge of space – or the point where we consider spacecraft and astronauts to have entered space, known as the Von Karman Line – is only 62 miles (100 kilometers) above sea level.
How do you find the orbital radius of a satellite?
Kepler’s Third law can be used to determine the orbital radius of the planet if the mass of the orbiting star is known (R3=T2−Mstar/Msun, the radius is in AU and the period is in earth years).
What is the highest satellite orbiting Earth?
High earth orbitFrom geostationary to the moon, 363,104 km out, but that’s not even earth’s most distant orbiter: A NASA satellite studying solar wind has the highest point in its orbit at 470,310 km—and it’s also the lowest-flying satellite at the other end of its elliptical orbit, coming as low as 186 km.