How does the moon and other satellite's move?

Answer 1

The REAL question would be, what's there to STOP it?

Newton's Laws of Motion tell us that every object that is at rest, remains at rest unless an outside force acts on it. And every object that is in motion will REMAIN in motion, in the same direction and with the same speed, unless some outside force acts on it.

So, what moves a satellite?

When the satellite is assembled at Cal Tech's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA, it is at rest. (Well, not really; it is whirling around as the Earth spins and orbits the Sun, but because we are also whiling and spinning, we don't notice.)

When the satellite is taken to Cape Canaveral for launch, it is moved by trucks, jets and trains, and then lifted to the top of a rocket. All of these mechanisms are forcing the satellite to move.

When the satellite is launched from Cape Kennedy, the rocket exerts hundreds of thousands of pounds of force to accelerate the satellite from about 900 miles per hour (the Earth's rotational speed at Cape Canaveral's latitude) to about 18,000 miles per hour. That's a heck of a force! Finally, there are some maneuvering rockets that circularize the orbit, and the satellite is released into space. Finally, some peace and quiet!

After that, the satellite is falling, and the only force acting on it is the gravity of the Earth. The satellite continues falling in its orbit, around the Earth.

Because the atmosphere at the altitude of most satellites is not entirely zero, there may be some - very minor - residual air resistance, depending on the altitude. At the altitude of the ISS, Shuttle or Hubble Space Telescope, there is enough atmosphere to slow the satellite down so that it will fall to Earth within 10 years or so. At geosynchronous orbit 23,000 miles up, the satellite will probably stay up there forever.

Answer 2

Yes. If they didn't, they would be sucked in by other gravitational forces.

Answer 3

the gravitty of the other planets pull it into orbit!! :) xx