8. Centripetal Forces & Gravitation

Communications satellites are placed in circular orbits where they stay directly over a fixed point on the equator as the earth rotates. These are called geosynchronous orbits. The altitude of a geosynchronous orbit is 3.58 x 10^7 m (approximately 22,00 miles) . Astronomical data are inside the back cover of the book (a) What is the period of a satellite in a geosynchronous orbit?

A satellite orbiting the moon very near the surface has a period of 110 min. What is free-fall acceleration on the surface of the moon? Astronomical data are inside the back cover of the book.

For a satellite to be in a circular orbit 890 km above the surface of the earth, (a) what orbital speed must it be given?

On July 15, 2004, NASA launched the Aura spacecraft to study the earth's climate and atmosphere. This satellite was injected into an orbit 705 km above the earth's surface. Assume a circular orbit. (a) How many hours does it take this satellite to make one orbit?