Question

You are a visitor aboard the New International Space Station, which is in a circular orbit around the Earth with an orbital speed of vo = 1.10 km/s. The station is equipped with a High Velocity Projectile Launcher, which can be used to launch small projectiles in various directions at high speeds. Most of the time, the projectiles either enter new orbits around the Earth or else eventually fall down and hit the Earth. However, as you know from your physics courses at the Academy, projectiles launched with a great enough initial speed can travel away from the Earth indefinitely, always slowing down but never falling back to Earth. With what minimum total speed, relative to the Earth, would projectiles need to be launched from the station in order to \"escape\" in this way?

Answer 1

The minimum total speed, relative to the Earth, required for a projectile to escape from the New International Space Station is approximately 11 kilometers per second.

Step-by-step explanation:

The minimum total speed, relative to the Earth, required for a projectile to escape from the New International Space Station is the escape speed of Earth, which is approximately 11 kilometers per second. This is the speed needed to move away from Earth forever and not return. If a projectile is launched with this minimum speed, it can travel away from the Earth indefinitely, always slowing down but never falling back to Earth.

It's important to note that the orbital speed of the space station, vo = 1.10 km/s, is not enough to achieve escape velocity. The escape speed is greater than the orbital speed because it requires additional energy to overcome Earth's gravitational pull completely.

Therefore, the minimum total speed that projectiles need to be launched from the station to escape the Earth is approximately 11 kilometers per second.

Answer 2

The minimum total speed, relative to the Earth, that projectiles need to be launched from the space station in order to escape the Earth's gravity is the escape speed.

Step-by-step explanation:

The minimum total speed, relative to the Earth, that projectiles need to be launched from the space station in order to escape the Earth's gravity is the escape speed. The escape speed from the Earth's surface is about 11 kilometers per second, or 25,000 miles per hour. To move away from the Earth forever and not fall back, the projectiles need to have a speed greater than or equal to the escape speed.