A small satellite of mass is moving in a circular orbit of radius around Earth
PHYSICS · Multi-part · CBSE · Physics · Motion in a Plane · Motion in a Plane
Problem
A small satellite of mass 750kg is moving in a circular orbit of radius 7.0×106m around Earth. At a certain instant its onboard thrusters fire in a direction opposite to the satellite’s motion, producing a constant tangential deceleration of magnitude 0.50ms−2 for a brief interval. At that instant the satellite’s speed is 7.80×103ms−1.
(a) Calculate the magnitude of the radial (centripetal) component of the satellite’s acceleration at that instant.
(b) Determine the magnitude of the net acceleration of the satellite while the thrusters are firing.
(c) Find the angle between the net acceleration vector and the line drawn from the satellite toward Earth’s center.
(d) Explain qualitatively how the direction of the satellite’s velocity vector will change during the brief firing interval, based on your result in part (c).