Question

Q3. At an altitude of 6679 km above the center of the Earth, the

International Space Station can complete one orbit in 1.5 hours.

Determine the average speed of the ISS. Explain why you should

calculate speed in this case, and not velocity.

Answer 1

5524.8 m/s

Step-by-step explanation:

Given that,

Altitude above the surface of earth is 6679 km, the Space Station can complete one orbit in 1.5 hours. We need to find the average speed of the ISS. The average speed of its orbit is given by :

`v=\sqrt{(GM)/(R)}`

R is distance from Earth

R = r + d, r is the radius of Earth

R = 6371 + 6679

R = 13050 km

So,

`v=\sqrt{(6.67* 10^(-11)* 5.972 * 10^(24))/(13050* 10^3)}\\\\v=5524.8\ m/s`

or

Hence, the average speed of ISS is 5524.8 m/s.