The gravitational force between the Earth and the spacecraft is approximately 71,474 Newtons, and the mass of the spacecraft is approximately 89,500 kilograms.
How can you calculate the gravitational force between the Earth and the spacecraft?
calculate the distance between the center of the Earth and the spacecraft. This is done by adding the Earth's radius to the spacecraft's altitude:
r = 6,371 kilometers + 965 kilometers = 7,336 kilometers
F = (6.67430 × 10⁻¹¹ N m²/kg²) * (5.9722 × 10²⁴ kg) * (m2) / (7,336,000 meters)²
Solving for m2, we get:
m2 = F * (7,336,000 meters)² / (6.67430 × 10⁻¹¹ N m²/kg²) * (5.9722 × 10²⁴ kg) ≈ 8.95 × 10⁴ kg
Therefore, the gravitational force between the Earth and the spacecraft is approximately 71,474 Newtons, and the mass of the spacecraft is approximately 89,500 kilograms.