Question

At what speed must a satellite be travelling so that it shall remain in a circular orbit 1683049 m above the surface of the Earth. Take the mass of the Earth as 6.0 × 1024 kg

Answer 1

Given data

*The given mass of the Earth is M_e = 6.0 × 10^24 kg

*The distance above the surface of the Earth is r = 1683049 m

The formula for the speed of the satellite must be traveling so that it shall remain in a circular orbit is given as

`v=\sqrt[]{(GM_e)/(r)}`

Substitute the known values in the above expression as

`\begin{gathered} v=\sqrt[]{((6.67*10^(-11))(6.0*10^(24)))/((1683049))} \\ =1.54*10^4\text{ m/s} \end{gathered}`

Hence, the speed of the satellite must be traveling so that it shall remain in a circular orbit is v = 1.54 × 10^4 m/s