A weather satellite is placed in a circular orbit at an altitude of 400 km above…

PHYSICS · Multi-part · A Level · Physics · Fields and their consequences · Fields and their consequences

Problem

A weather satellite is placed in a circular orbit at an altitude of 400 km above Earth’s surface. (i) Calculate the acceleration due to gravity acting on the satellite at this altitude. Take

R_E = 6.4 \times 10^6\,\text{m}

and

g = 9.80\,\text{m\,s}^{-2}

on the surface. (ii) If the mass of the satellite is

1.20 \times 10^3\,\text{kg}

, determine its weight while in orbit.

Related theory

Mass, Weight & Apparent Weight
Gravitation
Variation of g
Gravitational Field & Acceleration
Acceleration due to gravity above and below Earth's surface

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