Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
Inversely, for calculating the distance where a body has to orbit in order to have a given orbital period T: a = G M T 2 4 π 2 3 {\displaystyle a={\sqrt[{3}]{\frac {GMT^{2}}{4\pi ^{2}}}}} For instance, for completing an orbit every 24 hours around a mass of 100 kg , a small body has to orbit at a distance of 1.08 meters from the central body's ...
An orbit will be Sun-synchronous when the precession rate ρ = dΩ / dt equals the mean motion of the Earth about the Sun n E, which is 360° per sidereal year (1.990 968 71 × 10 −7 rad/s), so we must set n E = ΔΩ E / T E = ρ = ΔΩ / T , where T E is the Earth orbital period, while T is the period of the spacecraft ...
This equates to an orbital speed of 3.07 kilometres per second (1.91 miles per second) and an orbital period of 1,436 minutes, one sidereal day. This ensures that the satellite will match the Earth's rotational period and has a stationary footprint on the ground. All geostationary satellites have to be located on this ring.
A satellite with an orbital inclination between 90° and 180° (or, equivalently, between 0° and −90°) is said to be in a retrograde orbit. [note 2] A satellite in a direct orbit with an orbital period less than one day will tend to move from west to east along its ground track. This is called "apparent direct" motion.
T = rotational period of the body = Radius of orbit. By this formula one can find the stationary orbit of an object in relation to a given body. Orbital speed (how fast a satellite is moving through space) is calculated by multiplying the angular speed of the satellite by the orbital radius. [3]
The square of a satellite's orbital period is proportional to the cube of its average distance from the planet. Without applying force (such as firing a rocket engine), the period and shape of the satellite's orbit will not change.
Two medium Earth orbits are particularly significant. A satellite in the semi-synchronous orbit at an altitude of approximately 20,200 kilometres (12,600 mi) has an orbital period of 12 hours and passes over the same two spots on the equator every day. [1] This reliably predictable orbit is used by the Global Positioning System (GPS ...
Clickable image, highlighting medium altitude orbits around Earth, [a] from Low Earth to the lowest High Earth orbit (geostationary orbit and its graveyard orbit, at one ninth of the Moon's orbital distance), [b] with the Van Allen radiation belts and the Earth to scale