A 2.0×103kg communications satellite is transferred from an 800km circular orbit to a geostationary circular orbit whose radius is 4.2164×107m (measured from Earth’s center). Neglect atmospheric drag and assume the transfer requires two brief thruster burns, one to leave the lower orbit and one to circularize the higher orbit.
(a) Determine the kinetic energy of the satellite while it is in the initial 800km orbit.
(b) Determine the kinetic energy of the satellite once it is established in the geostationary orbit.
(c) Calculate the percentage increase in kinetic energy between the two circular orbits and briefly interpret what this percentage implies about the energy demands of high-altitude missions.