Final answer:
The distance traveled by the ISS in one full orbit around Earth is approximately 42,585 km, calculated using the circumference formula with the combined radius of Earth and the ISS's orbit altitude. None of the provided options in the question are correct, as they do not match the calculated distance.The correct option is B.
Step-by-step explanation:
The distance traveled by the International Space Station (ISS) in one full orbit around the Earth can be deduced based on the general understanding that the ISS is in low Earth orbit, which for the ISS is approximately 400 km above the Earth's surface. Since the Earth's radius is about 6,371 km, the total radius of the ISS's orbit is roughly the sum of the Earth's radius and the altitude of the ISS's orbit. We can calculate the circumference of its orbit using the formula:
C = 2πr, where C is the circumference and r is the radius of the orbit. Thus, the distance the ISS travels in one orbit is:
C = 2π(6,371 km + 400 km) ≈ 2π(6,771 km) ≈ 42,585 km.
Looking at the options provided in the question, none of them match this calculation. Therefore, all the given options A) 867,5309 mi, B) 17,130 mi, C) 11,420 mi, and D) 25,695 mi are all incorrect. The correct distance traveled by the ISS in one full orbit is approximately 42,585 km, which converts to about 26,460 miles, and as such is not listed among the options.
The ISS completes an orbit every 90 minutes or so, confirming that it is indeed in low Earth orbit. An understanding of the average altitude of the ISS and the size of Earth allows us to calculate the orbital distance. Understanding that the ISS completes its orbit in a relatively short amount of time also tells us that options b, c, and d, which correspond to orbital distances much greater than the low Earth orbit of the ISS, are not reasonable. Option a falls into a similar category, exceeding even the distance to the moon, which further underscores the inaccuracy of all the options presented in the question.The correct option is B.