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Yes. The reason they normally don't is a question of energy (or cost).

Since the Earth turns west to east you would have to overcome that component and THEN get up to orbital speed.

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Q: Can satellites orbit east to west around the earth?
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Why do the vast majority of satellites go generally from west to east and very rarely?

Earth's rotation is from west to east. When launching satellites, it's more convenient to launch in the same direction, to take advantage of this initial impulse, and thus save energy - since the satellite must have a certain speed in order to orbit Earth. To have a satellite from east to west would require an additional speed (with respect to Earth's surface) of twice the speed of Earth's rotation, which is about 1600 km/hour at the equator.


What the difference between venus and Jupiter?

Venus is an inferior planet i.e.its orbit is inside the earth's orbit. It does not have a moon It rotates from east to west. Jupiter is a superior planet i.e.its orbit is outside the earth's orbit. It has 63 moons. It rotates from west to east.


Why are satellites launched into a easterly direction?

Most satellites are launched to the east to utilize the earth's rotation as an extra propelling force. The earth is rotating in a counter-clockwise direction when viewed from the North Pole (from west to east), and when we launch our satellites east we take advantage of this momentum (angular momentum) from the earth's rotation. In effect, a rocket sitting still on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral is ALREADY GOING EAST, at about 800 miles per hour! On the other hand, if we launch them westward, the satellites will have to fight against the angular momentum of the earth's rotation, which means more power is needed to break through the earth's atmosphere. As many of us might not have noticed, we are moving at a breathtaking speed just by standing still (about 1000miles/hour at the equator, and decreasing with increasing latitude) when viewed from outer space. Launching our satellites eastward will harvest this power and save on fuel cost, and in space shuttle terms, that's a lot of money! However, not ALL satellites are launched to the east; some are launched to the south. Some relatively small percentage of satellites are launched into polar orbits so that they orbit the Earth from south to north, and then north to south. The Earth spins west to east, so that the effective ground path of the satellite is covers the Earth like a ball of twine. American satellites launched into polar orbits are often launched from Vandenberg AFB in California, where a launch to the south keeps the rocket over water for several thousand miles.


Do all celestial objects rise in the east and set in the west because the earth is orbiting around the sun from east to west?

Celestial objects rise in the east and set in the west not due to Earth's revolution (orbit), but due to Earth's rotation, or how it spins. Since the earth spins around 1 full time approximately every day, we see all the objects in our sky come up and go back down once every day. It does this every day while orbiting the sun, but it takes a full year to get around the sun once, so the effects of the orbit are much slower.


What are the imaginary lnes that run east to west around earth called?

The imaginary lines that run around the earth in an east-west direction are lines of latitude or parallels.

Related questions

What direction moon orbit around earth?

the moon travels from west to east in its orbit


What is the name of the satellite orbiting earth?

There are several man made satellites that orbit the Earth. The moon is the only satellite that orbits the Earth in a counter-clockwise fashion, from west to east.


What are two names of different satellites?

Anything in orbit could be considered a satellite. There is one natural satellite - the moon. There are hundreds of navigation, communications, weather, science/experimental and military/intelligence satellites in orbit. There are thousands of bits of "space junk" orbiting the earth at present.


Why do all satellites face south?

This allows them to see the entire surface of the Earth. The Earth is rotating East to West. (Or West to East if you were the satellite.) If you placed a satellite into an East-West orbit, it would not see the polar regions. If it were high enough (geo-stationary), it would only see one spot on the Earth. By using North-South (polar) orbits, the satellites will, after several orbits, be able to see the entire surface of the Earth.


What is the name of the satellite visible over Skegness UK at about 21.00 on 2 Sept 2010 travelling approx west to east?

Are you sure it was a satellite ? The International Space Station is also visible from earth. Most satellites are in a geo-stationary orbit - in that they orbit the earth at the same speed the earth spins on its axis.


What direction do satallites go circling the earth?

They go around and around. More artificial satellites proceed from west to east, because it takes less energy (fuel) to launch a satellite into that kind of orbit. But there's no fundamental reason why a satellite can't go in any direction you want. The only requirements are . . . -- The center of the Earth has to be in the plane of the orbit. -- If you expect it to stay up there for a while, then the satellite has to stay outside most of the Earth's atmosphere.


What direction relative to an observer on the earth's surface does the moon travel in its orbit?

In this case, there is 'true' motion, and there is 'apparent' motion. To an observer on earth, the moon 'appears' to rise in the east and set in the west, just like the sun. But in fact the moon travels from west to east in its orbit around the earth. From a perspective far about the earth and to the north, the moon travels counter-clockwise around the earth. It is the relatively rapid daily spin of the earth from west to east that causes the apparent motion. The moon takes a whole month to orbit earth; in that time 27+ days have gone by on earth.


Why do the vast majority of satellites go generally from west to east and very rarely?

Earth's rotation is from west to east. When launching satellites, it's more convenient to launch in the same direction, to take advantage of this initial impulse, and thus save energy - since the satellite must have a certain speed in order to orbit Earth. To have a satellite from east to west would require an additional speed (with respect to Earth's surface) of twice the speed of Earth's rotation, which is about 1600 km/hour at the equator.


Why is it that the sun rises in the east when the earth rotates from west to east?

because we orbit


What the difference between venus and Jupiter?

Venus is an inferior planet i.e.its orbit is inside the earth's orbit. It does not have a moon It rotates from east to west. Jupiter is a superior planet i.e.its orbit is outside the earth's orbit. It has 63 moons. It rotates from west to east.


What is meant by a geostationary orbit?

A geosynchronous orbits refers to the orbit of a satellite that matches the rotation of the earth, allowing it to remain above the same line of longitude. The satellite may still move north and south but not east or west. A geostationary orbit is a specific type of geosynchronous orbit directly above the equator. This allows the satellite to remain completely stationary over a fixed point on the earth's surface.


How do satellites in low polar orbit scan the whole world in one day?

A satellite in a "polar" orbit goes north and south around the world. Depending on the satellite's altitude, it will take about 90 minutes to go around once. But because the Earth itself spins from West to East, every time the satellite comes back around, the Earth will have rotated underneath it, by 360 degrees divided by the orbital period in minutes; for a 90-minute orbit, about 23 degrees per orbit. You can see how this would work if you take some string or ribbon, and wrap it top-to-bottom around a ball. Be sure to spin the ball slowly while wrapping it with the string.