A satellite is to operate in a circular orbit above the Earth’s surface
PHYSICS · Multi-part · A Level · Physics · Fields and their consequences · Fields and their consequences
Problem
A satellite is to operate in a circular orbit 300km above the Earth’s surface. Take Earth’s mass ME=6.0×1024kg and radius RE=6.4×106m.
(i) Calculate the orbital speed of the satellite at this altitude.
(ii) Determine the minimum speed that an object located at the same altitude must be given so that it just escapes Earth’s gravitational influence.
(iii) Using your numerical results, verify that the ratio of escape speed to orbital speed at a given distance from Earth’s centre is 2.