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Why are GPS satellites easier to launch than Geostationary satellites?
Leeladharanjaney
The further away from the planet a satellite is, the longer the orbit. So satellites in low earth orbit - from about 120 to about 600 miles up - orbit the Earth in about 90 to 100 minutes, doing 15-18 orbits per day. The International Space Station, for example, is about 150 miles up, and appears to ZIP across the sky. The Space Shuttle can get up to "LEO" or "low Earth orbit".
Higher orbits take longer. One of the most useful orbits is about 22,500 miles up, so that the satellite takes 24 hours to go around the Earth one time. The means that the satellite is orbiting the Earth at the same speed that the Earth itself is turning, so that the satellite appears to remain in the same place all the time. This is called "geo-synchronous" from the Latin words for "Earth" and "same time". Communications satellites and TV satellites are commonly in "geosych" orbits. The Shuttle cannot make it to geosynch altitude, for lack of fuel. So comsats headed to geosynch orbits are launched from the Shuttle with special booster rockets, or are launched from unmanned "heavy lift" rockets.
Wiki User
∙ 14y ago
Wiki User
∙ 12y agoThe best answer is simply: That's the way gravity works.
If you take Newton's deceptively simple formula for the gravitational force
between two masses, and if you have enough geometry and calculus to
massage the formula around, look at it from different angles, and follow it
through to some of its implications, then some wonderful things happen.
The first result is that all of Kepler's laws of planetary motion fall out on the
table, and you no longer have to ask "Why do the planets do that ?" They
do everything they do because that's the way gravity works.
You also discover that neither the size of the orbit nor the speed in orbit depends
on the mass of the orbiting body. The speed depends only on the size of the orbit.
You're happy about this because it means that an astronaut can do a "space walk" ...
separating himself from his spacecraft but still staying in the same Earth orbit that
the spacecraft is in, so that he doesn't go sailing away from the spacecraft just
because he has less mass.
And you also discover the strange fact that the larger the orbit, the slower the
orbiting body moves. An astronaut on a space walk in low-earth-orbit is orbiting
faster than the moon is!
It's just the way gravity works.
Wiki User
∙ 14y agoThe International Space Station is in a "low Earth orbit" about 180 miles up. It takes about 90 minutes, so the ISS orbits at about 18,000 miles per hour.
The Earth's orbit around the Sun varies a little because it is an elliptical orbit, not perfectly circular. But on average, the Earth is going about 67,000 miles per hour in its orbit around the Sun.
Wiki User
∙ 14y agoEvery mass object, in a closed orbit around another object on account of their mutual gravitational
attraction, moves faster at the points in its orbit where it's closer to the central body. The best way
to explain the reason is: Because that's the way gravity works.
When you take Newton's laws of motion and massage them mathematically to see where they take you,
they lead to several interesting places, including:
-- Stable, elliptical orbits, which behave according to . . .
-- Kepler's Laws. Kepler derived them empirically, from analysis of Tycho's observations.
But Newton's laws show mathematically why it must work that way.
-- Higher speed at smaller orbital distances
Wiki User
∙ 13y agoGeosynchronous satellites are launched into much higher orbits. That requires more fuel, which requires bigger rockets.
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Is international space station closer to Earth than the weather satellites and GPS satellites in miles?
It depends on which satellite you are talking about. However YES, it is closer than any geostationary weather satellite and it is closer than any GPS satellites.
Are satellites larger than the planets?
No. They are usually smaller.
Does the Earth have more natural or more artificial satellites?
Earth has one natural satellite and more than a thousand artificial satellites.
What has satellites or moons than any other planet?
Saturn
Statements about the motion of planetary satellites?
Planetary satellites vary greatly in size, from very small, to some that are larger than some planets.
Why does a satellite travel over different parts of the earth?
Because most satellites are not 'geostationary'. A geostationary satellite orbits the Earth at the same speed that the Earth spins on its axis - such as the GPS grid, or TV relay satellites. Most satellites travel faster or slower than the Earth spins.
Is international space station closer to Earth than the weather satellites and GPS satellites in miles?
It depends on which satellite you are talking about. However YES, it is closer than any geostationary weather satellite and it is closer than any GPS satellites.
Total no of satellites lanch by india?
one
What are the strategic locations of satellites?
There are two special locations for satellites: * geostationary orbits * polar orbits For satellite communication, it is very convenient if one can align fixed ground antenna to point at the satellite. The only way to get a satellite to stay exactly in front of a fixed ground antenna is to put it in geostationary orbit -- an altitude of 35,786 km above sea level above the equator. Other than geostationary orbit, there are a few other orbits that hold a satellite approximately in front of a fixed ground antenna for several hours -- the Molniya orbit and the Tundra orbit. Satellites designed to take photos of Earth (weather satellites, spy satellites, etc.) are typically in a polar orbit. Sooner or later, a satellite in polar orbit will end up directly overhead any given point on Earth. Typically these satellites are in an orbit very roughly 1000 km above sea level (roughly 100 minute orbit), because higher orbits are more expensive, and orbits less than a few hundred km rapidly decay from air friction.
What are Communications satellites?
Communication satellites receive signals from antennae on the Earth's surface, or from other satellites, amplify the signals, and beam them back to Earth. Because they are hundreds or thousands of miles up, their signals can cover a larger area than most radio or television signals broadcast on the surface, because of the Earth's curvature. (Radio waves don't go around corners well.) Some communications satellites are in quite low orbits, around 150 miles high. Others are in "geostationary" orbits at about 22,500 miles, where their rotation around the Earth is the same speed as the Earth's rotation, so that they stay above a particular spot all the time. Most broadcast satellites for TV, phone service and satellite radio are geostationary.
What is a non Geo stationary satellite?
Non Geo stationary satellite is that satellite which has different angular velocity from earth and not placed on the height of 36000 Km from the earth. If you use Geo stationary satellite than only 3 satellites are enough to cover whole world. most of satellite are geostationary and they are(most of them) active satellites too.
How many geostationary satellites are there in orbit and what do they provide?
there are more than 200 sattellites
Which is closer to the sun a satellite in Leo orbit or in geostationary orbit?
LEO orbit is closer to the Earth than a geostationary orbit is.There's essentially no difference in their distance from the Sun.
This is easier than it seems What restaurant chain did Glen Bell launch on March 21 1962 in Downey California?
Taco Bell
Why are ground stations in continuous contact with satellites in geostationary orbit?
Just imagine managing a system of communication satellites which were non-geostationary. Data needs to be sent to one city, one home, but the satellite for the job is different every time. The task would be manageable, but unnecessarily difficult. Further more, metropolises must have priority over small towns- or oceans. New York needs more satellites than Apple Creek Ohio or the Atlantic Ocean. Finally, many satellites serve a very specific audience. Your favorite radio station would almost never come into reception if the satellite broadcasting it is circling the world.
What are the different space satellites in the outer space?
there are many satellites in space.there are natural satellites and manmade satellites.For example,Earth"s natural satellite is the Moon.there are more than 3000 satellites in space!Some examples of their users are:weather forecast,communication from one place to another quickly.etc
Why is geostationary important?
A geostationary satellite is an earth-orbiting satellite, placed at an altitude of approximately 35,800 kilometers (22,300 miles) directly over the equator, that revolves in the same direction the earth rotates (west to east). At this altitude, one orbit takes 24 hours, the same length of time as the earth requires to rotate once on its axis. The term geostationary comes from the fact that such a satellite appears nearly stationary in the sky as seen by a ground-based observer. In other words a satellite that orbits a specific part of the earth while the earth is rotating so it looks like the satellite doesn't move. For example if you put a satellite over over the geographic US it will stay over the US and turn with the earth around the axis without ever loosing site of the US.
