What would happen if the mass of a satellite is increased while orbiting earth?

Answer 1

The only way to slow down an orbiting satellite would be to put it into a higher orbit. If you push a satellite backwards (over a certain period of time), it would lose energy, move into a lower orbit, and actually move faster. Of course, if it gets into too low an orbit, it will eventually crash to the Earth's surface.

Comments: Actually, many satellites do slow down. That's mainly because of the

(very thin) atmosphere many satellites move through, even in orbits a few hundred kilometers above Earth.

For example the International Space Station has to regularly use fuel to maintain its correct orbit.

Although the mathematics is a bit complicated, a slowing satellite would eventually burn up, probably with bits hitting the ground.

Answer 2

If the mass of a satellite in orbit around the Earth is increased, it will not affect the satellite's orbit trajectory. However, the additional mass will lead to higher gravitational forces acting on the satellite, causing changes in its velocity and potential fuel consumption for maintaining its orbit.

Answer 3

They will Fall back to the ground..

Here's why..

Imagine a car driving around in a perfect circle. This is a centripetal acceleration described by

a = v^2 / r

where v is the velocity of the car and r is the distance of its revolution. This equation of acceleration also applies to the motion of the satellite as it moves around the planet. (Here we are not considering the planet's rotational motion.) Now if we want to consider centripetal force, we multiply the centripetal acceleration by the mass of the satellite; this gives:

F = m a

Next consider that the weight of the artificial satellite is given by the equation:

W = m g

Now g is the acceleration due to gravity. In the physics classroom its value is usually given at sea level, but in reality g is a variable: closer to the center of mass it is strong, farther away it is weak.

For the artificial satellite to orbit the planet without falling in, F and W must be equal. So then:

F = W

m a = m g

a = g

v^2 / r = g

Now if the satellite slows down, v decreases in value so that:

v^2 / r < g

This means that the acceleration due to gravity is greater than the centripetal acceleration. Gravity wins the fight and pulls the satellite to the planet's surface.

That formula would work fine when talking about orbital decay or as you pointed out above "if the satellite slows down"

If the mass of a small Earth-orbiting satellite is doubled, the radius of

its orbit can remain constant if the speed of the satellite does not change.

If you apply Newton's second law and the law of

gravity to the satellite to obtain an expression for its speed as a function of the

radius of its orbit, then the speed of the satellite is independent of its mass.

Answer 4

When a satellite slows down, it drops into a lower orbit. If it gets low enough to graze the Earth's atmosphere, which extends out about 100 miles, then friction will slow the satellite down even more and cause heating. This will likely destroy the satellite, causing it to break up and burn up in the atmosphere.

Very large satellites have been known to crash to Earth, especially heavy metal parts that don't disintegrate from the heat of re-entry.

Answer 5

It would fall vertically towards the Earth. Think of a satellite as a ball on the end of a string. Holding the end of the string, your hand is the earth and the ball is the satellite. If you swing it round in a circle, the ball stays up when it goes up if you go fast enough. If you slow down, or stop, the ball will fall down towards the actual earth because that is where gravity is pulling. In our model, it would fall to your hand (the earth).

Answer 6

Earth's gravity would pull it closer, since less orbital velocity means less centrifugal force counteracting gravity. The moon's orbit would stabilize at a closer distance.

Since the force of gravity varies with the square of the distance, a small increase in closeness would mean a large increase in the effect of the moon on the tides, and Earth's Coastlines (and the major cities located along them) would be inundated by greatly magnified tidal forces. Bye-bye New York!

Answer 7

It would fly off in a straight line immediately.

Answer 8

The speed of a satellite's orbit is very important so it stays in continuous freefall. If it goes too slow, it will fall to Earth. If it goes too fast, it can shoot out into space.

Answer 9

If the earth stopped rotating there would be no effect on the motion of satellites.

Answer 10

It would rise to a higher orbit, and slow down.