What Prevents Satellites Such As The Space Shuttle From Falling

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What prevents satellites such as ISS from falling?

A) less than 8 km/s. B) more than 8 km/s. C) about 8 km/s.

How can a projectile fall around the Earth?

A projectile can “fall around Earth” if the distance it falls matches the curvature of Earth.

Which requires more fuel a rocket going from Earth to the moon or a rocket coming from the moon to Earth?

A rocket going from the Earth to the Moon would require more fuel. Since the Earth has more mass than the Moon the Earth will exert a larger gravitational force on the rocket than the Moon would (things weigh less on the Moon).

Why doesn’t the force of gravity change the speed of a satellite in circular orbit?

The gravitational force doesn’t change the speed of a satellite in circular orbit because the force is always perpendicular to the direction of motion of the satellite. … The force of gravity does no work on a satellite in circular orbit since the force is always perpendicular to the planet’s direction of motion.

What keeps the ISS in orbit?

It maintains an orbit with an average altitude of 400 kilometres (250 mi) by means of reboost manoeuvres using the engines of the Zvezda Service Module or visiting spacecraft. The ISS circles the Earth in roughly 93 minutes completing 15.5 orbits per day.

What keeps the ISS moving?

The ISS moves in a circle around Earth at just the right speed. The centrifugal force pushing it away is exactly the same as the force of gravity pulling it in. This balance is called a stable orbit. And unless something happens to change it it will continue.

What force does the Earth exert on the satellite?

Gravity
Gravity keeps the International Space Station in orbit around the Earth. Gravity keeps the Moon orbiting around the Earth.Mar 27 2013

How do satellites accelerate?

Second a satellite is acted upon by the force of gravity and this force does accelerate it towards the Earth. … The force of gravity acts upon a high speed satellite to deviate its trajectory from a straight-line inertial path. Indeed a satellite is accelerating towards the Earth due to the force of gravity.

What is the force that control the satellite around the Earth?

Once launched into orbit the only force governing the motion of a satellite is the force of gravity. Newton was the first to theorize that a projectile launched with sufficient speed would actually orbit the earth.

Why does the Moon not crash into the Earth?

Without having the force of Gravity from earth-moon would have just floated away from us. The moon’s velocity and distance from Earth allow it to make a perfect balance between fall and escape. … That’s why the moon doesn’t fall on Earth.

How much weight is the Earth?

5.972 × 10^24 kg

Why would your weight be less if you were deep beneath Earth’s surface?

Your weight would be less because the gravitational field inside the Earth is less than the gravitational field at the surface. This is because if you are inside the Earth only part of the Earth’s mass is pulling you downward.

What force is present that prevents the object from moving?

Galileo reasoned that moving objects eventually stop because of a force called friction. In experiments using a pair of inclined planes facing each other Galileo observed that a ball would roll down one plane and up the opposite plane to approximately the same height.

How does the force due to gravity keep a satellite in orbit?

The force due to gravity keeps a satellite in orbit by pulling it toward Earth. By moving fast enough however the satellite falls in a curved path and circles the Earth. So orbit is something like a controlled fall.

What provides the force that causes the centripetal acceleration of a satellite in orbit?

An orbiting satellite is close enough to be acted upon by Earth’s gravity. This force is constantly pulling the satellite in toward the center of the earth – it is a centripetal force and causes a centripetal acceleration. At this height however Earth’s gravity is only about 8.7 m/s².

Does the ISS have engines?

To move the ISS safely Progress’ eight engines pulse in a pattern that pushes their thrust evenly through the station’s center of gravity. … Last December for example the thrusters on a Progress fired for 1 364 seconds to raise the station’s orbit by five miles before space shuttle Discovery arrived.

Has anyone died in space?

A total of 18 people have lost their lives either while in space or in preparation for a space mission in four separate incidents. Given the risks involved in space flight this number is surprisingly low. … The remaining four fatalities during spaceflight were all cosmonauts from the Soviet Union.

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How does ISS get oxygen?

Most of the station’s oxygen will come from a process called “electrolysis ” which uses electricity from the ISS solar panels to split water into hydrogen gas and oxygen gas. … The hydrogen is used for making sugars and the oxygen is released into the atmosphere.

Will the ISS fall to Earth?

The ISS doesn’t fall to Earth because it is moving forward at exactly the right speed that when combined with the rate it is falling due to gravity produces a curved path that matches the curvature of the Earth.

How long is 1 hour in space?

Answer: That number times 1 hour is 0.0026 seconds. So a person at that deep space location would have a clock that would run for one hour while that person calculated that our clock ran for 59 minutes 59.9974 seconds.

How much do a Astronaut get paid?

The pay grades for civilian astronauts are GS-11 through GS-14 based on academic achievements and experience. Currently a GS-11 astronaut starts at $64 724 per year a GS-14 astronaut can earn up to $141 715 in annual salary [source: NASA].

Will the satellite fall back to Earth or will it remain in the orbit if not why?

When a satellite is in orbit it has a perfect balance between its momentum and Earth’s gravity. … It only has to travel about 6 700 miles per hour to overcome gravity and stay in orbit. Satellites can stay in an orbit for hundreds of years like this so we don’t have to worry about them falling down to Earth.

What happens if a satellite slows down?

If the satellite slows down it would crash into the object it is orbiting. If the satellite speeds up it may spin off into space. The satellite could be knocked or moved closer or farther from the object it is orbiting.

Do satellites spin?

Most communications satellites are dual spin satellites. The rotor (plastered with solar arrays) rotates rather quickly for stability while the communications platform rotates but once per day.

Why do satellites not need fuel in orbit?

Satellite needs no fuel to move around a planet in a fixed orbit because the gravitational force of attraction between the satellite and the planet provides the necessary centripetal force required to revolve around it. … Greater the distance less is the pull of the tidal effect.

How fast do satellites travel?

They complete an orbit in about 90 minutes because they are close to the Earth and gravity causes them to move very quickly at around 17 000 miles per hour. Many satellites need to be used for communication relay because the area they cover on Earth’s surface is small and they are moving so quickly.

Do satellites have lights?

The satellites don’t emit any light themselves said Samantha Lawler an astronomer at the University of Regina. Instead they’re visible because they reflect sunlight. “It’s like a train of stars moving together in a line.

Do satellites move around Earth?

A satellite orbits Earth when its speed is balanced by the pull of Earth’s gravity. Without this balance the satellite would fly in a straight line off into space or fall back to Earth. Satellites orbit Earth at different heights different speeds and along different paths.

What force keeps us planted firmly on the ground instead of flying off into space?

It is being acted on by an invisible force called gravity which is the basic force in the universe that attracts all objects to each other. gravitational attraction between you and Earth is what keeps your feet planted firmly on the ground.

What controls the orbit of all planets in our solar system?

Gravity is the force that keeps planets in orbit around the Sun. Gravity alone holds us to Earth’s surface. Planets have measurable properties such as size mass density and composition. A planet’s size and mass determines its gravitational pull.

Why does Moon have a dark side?

One lunar side always faces Earth or is tidally locked because the moon’s rotation and orbit is closely synced-up with our planet’s. The moon spins about its axis and orbits the sun with Earth so its night or “dark” side is constantly moving.

Will the moon ever explode?

Moons do sometimes explode. This can happen in two ways — they can be struck by something big or they can be ripped apart by gravitational disturbances. … Exploding moons and planets were much more common when the Solar System was young. At that time the Solar System was a chaotic place.

Why does the Earth not fall into the Sun?

The earth is literally falling towards the sun under its immense gravity. So why don’t we hit the sun and burn up? Fortunately for us the earth has a lot of sideways momentum. Because of this sideways momentum the earth is continually falling towards the sun and missing it.

How tall is the Earth?

Earth’s circumference (the distance all the way around the equator) is 24 901 miles (40 075 kilometers). Its diameter (the distance from one side to the other through Earth’s center) is 7 926 miles (about 12 756 kilometers).