Question

The International Space Station operates at an altitude of 350 km. When final construction is completed, it will have a weight (measured at the Earth’s surface) of 4.22 x 106 N. What is its weight when in orbit?

Answer 1

4 x 10^6 N

Step-by-step explanation:

h = 350 km

Weight on the surface = m g

4.22 x 10^6 = m x 9.81

m = 4.3 x 10^5 kg

Let the gravity at height h is g'

`(g')/(g)=\left ( (R)/(R+h) \right )^(2)`

g' = 9.3 m/s^2

So, weight at height

W' = m g' = 4.3 x 10^5 x 9.3 = 4 x 10^6 N