Question

An unmanned satellite orbits the earth with a perigee radius of 10,000 km and an apogee radius of 100,000 km. Calculate the eccentricity of the orbit

Answer 1

The eccentricity of the unmanned satellite's orbit, with a perigee radius of 10,000 km and an apogee radius of 100,000 km, is calculated to be 0.81818.

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate the eccentricity of an orbit, you can use the formula:

e = (dap - dpe) / (dap + dpe),

where:

• e is the eccentricity of the orbit,
• dap is the apogee radius, or the maximum distance from the Earth to the satellite,
• dpe is the perigee radius, or the minimum distance from the Earth to the satellite.

For the unmanned satellite with a perigee radius of 10,000 km and an apogee radius of 100,000 km:

e = (100,000 km - 10,000 km) / (100,000 km + 10,000 km) = 90,000 km / 110,000 km = 0.81818.

Therefore, the eccentricity of the satellite's orbit is 0.81818.