A research satellite is to be placed in a circular orbit above Earth’s surface

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

Problem

A research satellite is to be placed in a circular orbit 300 km300\,\text{km} above Earth’s surface. Take ME=6.0×1024 kgM_{\text{E}}=6.0\times10^{24}\,\text{kg}, RE=6.4×106 mR_{\text{E}}=6.4\times10^{6}\,\text{m} and G=6.67×10−11 N m2 kg−2G=6.67\times10^{-11}\,\text{N m}^2\,\text{kg}^{-2}. (i) Calculate the orbital speed of the satellite at the stated altitude. (ii) Determine the escape speed from the same altitude and express the orbital speed as a fraction of the escape speed. (iii) Find the kinetic energy per unit mass of the satellite in this orbit.

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