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The commonly used altitude classifications are Low Earth Orbit (LEO), Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) and High Earth Orbit (HEO). Low Earth orbit is any orbit below 2000 km, and Medium Earth Orbit is any orbit higher than that but still below the altitude for geosynchronous orbit at 35786 km. High Earth Orbit is any orbit higher than the altitude for geosynchronous orbit.
Wiki User
∙ 15y ago
Wiki User
∙ 14y agoInteresting to think about. I did a few calculations.
The speed of a small satellite only depends on the mass of the central body and the satellite's
distance from it ... the closer the satellite is to the central body, the faster it moves. (A satellite
in low earth orbit moves about 8 km/sec, whereas the moon moves only about 1 km/sec.)
So in order to get a satellite going really fast, we have to put it in a tiny orbit ... as close as possible
to the center of the earth.
Here's the calculation I did: Imagine the whole mass of the earth packed into a ball with a diameter
of 100 feet (instead of 8,000 miles). That means we take the most dense planet in the solar system
and crush all of its mass down so it becomes about 1016 (ten million billion) times as dense as it
is now. And then we put a small satellite in orbit around it, flying just barely above the surface ...
at an orbital radius of 50 feet from the center of this mass. How fast does this satellite move ?
Here are my figures. You're welcome to repeat the calc and shoot them down.
(period)2 / (radius)3 = constant (Kepler and Newton)
The orbital radius is 50 ft.
The orbital circumference is (100 pi) feet = roughly 95.8 meters.
The orbital period is 19.1 microseconds
The orbital speed is 5.023 x 106 meters per second = roughly 1.7% of the speed of light.
So far, the answer to the question is not close at all.
Maybe we could get a different result if we look at something like a 10-foot orbit around a
super-massive black hole. But then we'd have to get into all the messy relativistic effects, and
I've already blown too much time on this question. I'm satisfied to leave it at "not close at all".
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How people learned about the far side of the moon?
simple, we sent a satellite to orbit the moon and take pictures
How many times does each gps satellite rotate around the earth in a day?
If the satellite is in low orbit, it should take about one and a half hour to go once around the Earth.If the satellite is in low orbit, it should take about one and a half hour to go once around the Earth.If the satellite is in low orbit, it should take about one and a half hour to go once around the Earth.If the satellite is in low orbit, it should take about one and a half hour to go once around the Earth.
What is it meant by apogee and perigee?
Both of those words refer to points in the orbit of an earth satellite ... the moon or any artificial satellite. Apogee . . . the point in the orbit where the satellite is farthest from the earth. Perigee . . . the point in the orbit where the satellite is closest to the earth.
Why does a satellite stay in orbit?
because the satellite is controlled by scientists
How do you use 'orbit' in a short sentence?
As a noun: The rocket placed the satellite into a high Earth orbit. As a verb: The satellite had to travel very fast to orbit the Earth.
Is Orbit Send With Satellite?
The orbit helps the satellite go into orbit.
What year did a satellite go into orbit around venus?
In 2005 a satellite went into orbit around Venus.
How is a satellite corrected if it moves to far from its orbit?
Retro rockets .
How far above the earth is geostationary orbit?
Geostationary satellites are in an orbit that's 22,282 mi (35,786 km) above the surface of the Earth. For more on Geostationary satellite orbits, visit http://www.idirect.net/Company/Satellite-Basics/How-Satellite-Works.aspx
Where did Sputnik 2 go?
It was an artificial satellite that went into orbit around the earth
How people learned about the far side of the moon?
simple, we sent a satellite to orbit the moon and take pictures
How many times does each gps satellite rotate around the earth in a day?
If the satellite is in low orbit, it should take about one and a half hour to go once around the Earth.If the satellite is in low orbit, it should take about one and a half hour to go once around the Earth.If the satellite is in low orbit, it should take about one and a half hour to go once around the Earth.If the satellite is in low orbit, it should take about one and a half hour to go once around the Earth.
What can you infer about the linear velocity of a satellite in an elliptical orbit as it travels from perigee to apogee?
If the satellite is at the perigee it would go faster and if it was at the apogee it would go slower.
The circumference of the orbit of a satellite is 260400km the satellite is travelling at 10850km how long does the satellite take to complete one orbit?
24 hours
The speed that must be reached by a satellite or spacecraft for it to go into orbit is called?
Escape velocity
What is repitivity and revisit of satellite orbit?
The repetitivity and revisit of satellite orbit refers to the time elapsed between observations of the same point on earth by a satellite. It usually depends with the target location, the orbit of the satellite and the swath of the sensor.
Was sputnik a spy satellite?
No, it was far too crude to have any value as a spy satellite. Basically it was an experiment to see if things could be launched into orbit and made to function there.
