Problem 45553. SatCom #4: Satellite Orbit Altitude

Created by Mark Posen

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<div style = "text-align: start; line-height: 20.4333px; min-height: 0px; white-space: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Menlo, Monaco, Consolas, monospace; font-style: normal; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: rgb(0, 0, 0); white-space: normal; "><div style="block-size: 357px; display: block; min-width: 0px; padding-block-start: 0px; padding-top: 0px; perspective-origin: 407px 178.5px; transform-origin: 407px 178.5px; vertical-align: baseline; "><div style="block-size: 21px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 21px; margin-block-end: 9px; margin-block-start: 2px; margin-bottom: 9px; margin-inline-end: 10px; margin-inline-start: 4px; margin-left: 4px; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 2px; perspective-origin: 384px 10.5px; text-align: left; transform-origin: 384px 10.5px; white-space: pre-wrap; margin-left: 4px; margin-top: 2px; margin-bottom: 9px; margin-right: 10px; "><span style="block-size: auto; display: inline; margin-block-end: 0px; margin-block-start: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-inline-end: 0px; margin-inline-start: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; perspective-origin: 157.5px 8px; transform-origin: 157.5px 8px; unicode-bidi: normal; "><span style="font-weight: 700; ">Satellite and Space Engineering - Problem #4</span></span></div><div style="block-size: 21px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 21px; margin-block-end: 9px; margin-block-start: 2px; margin-bottom: 9px; margin-inline-end: 10px; margin-inline-start: 4px; margin-left: 4px; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 2px; perspective-origin: 384px 10.5px; text-align: left; transform-origin: 384px 10.5px; white-space: pre-wrap; margin-left: 4px; margin-top: 2px; margin-bottom: 9px; margin-right: 10px; "><span style="block-size: auto; display: inline; margin-block-end: 0px; margin-block-start: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-inline-end: 0px; margin-inline-start: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; perspective-origin: 366.5px 8px; transform-origin: 366.5px 8px; unicode-bidi: normal; "><span style="font-style: italic; ">This is part of a series of problems looking at topics in satellite and space communications and systems engineering.</span></span></div><div style="block-size: 42px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 21px; margin-block-end: 9px; margin-block-start: 2px; margin-bottom: 9px; margin-inline-end: 10px; margin-inline-start: 4px; margin-left: 4px; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 2px; perspective-origin: 384px 21px; text-align: left; transform-origin: 384px 21px; white-space: pre-wrap; margin-left: 4px; margin-top: 2px; margin-bottom: 9px; margin-right: 10px; "><span style="block-size: auto; display: inline; margin-block-end: 0px; margin-block-start: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-inline-end: 0px; margin-inline-start: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; perspective-origin: 370px 8px; transform-origin: 370px 8px; unicode-bidi: normal; "><span style="">Determine the altitude (height above the surface of the Earth) for a satellite in a circular Earth orbit with a known orbit period.</span></span></div><div style="block-size: 21px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 21px; margin-block-end: 9px; margin-block-start: 2px; margin-bottom: 9px; margin-inline-end: 10px; margin-inline-start: 4px; margin-left: 4px; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 2px; perspective-origin: 384px 10.5px; text-align: left; transform-origin: 384px 10.5px; white-space: pre-wrap; margin-left: 4px; margin-top: 2px; margin-bottom: 9px; margin-right: 10px; "><span style="block-size: auto; display: inline; margin-block-end: 0px; margin-block-start: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-inline-end: 0px; margin-inline-start: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; perspective-origin: 249.5px 8px; transform-origin: 249.5px 8px; unicode-bidi: normal; "><span style="">You are given the satellite orbit period (in s). Calculate the orbit altitude (in km).</span></span></div><div style="block-size: 42px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 21px; margin-block-end: 9px; margin-block-start: 2px; margin-bottom: 9px; margin-inline-end: 10px; margin-inline-start: 4px; margin-left: 4px; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 2px; perspective-origin: 384px 21px; text-align: left; transform-origin: 384px 21px; white-space: pre-wrap; margin-left: 4px; margin-top: 2px; margin-bottom: 9px; margin-right: 10px; "><span style="block-size: auto; display: inline; margin-block-end: 0px; margin-block-start: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-inline-end: 0px; margin-inline-start: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; perspective-origin: 380px 8px; transform-origin: 380px 8px; unicode-bidi: normal; "><span style="">You should take the radius of the Earth to be 6371km, the mass of the Earth to be 5.9722e24 kg and Newton's Universal Gravitational Constant to be 6.6743015e-11 m3/kg/s.</span></span></div><div style="block-size: 84px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 21px; margin-block-end: 9px; margin-block-start: 2px; margin-bottom: 9px; margin-inline-end: 10px; margin-inline-start: 4px; margin-left: 4px; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 2px; perspective-origin: 384px 42px; text-align: left; transform-origin: 384px 42px; white-space: pre-wrap; margin-left: 4px; margin-top: 2px; margin-bottom: 9px; margin-right: 10px; "><span style="block-size: auto; display: inline; margin-block-end: 0px; margin-block-start: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-inline-end: 0px; margin-inline-start: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; perspective-origin: 341px 8px; transform-origin: 341px 8px; unicode-bidi: normal; "><span style="">Hints: 1) Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation will tell you the force between the satellite and the Earth (see:</span></span><span style="block-size: auto; display: inline; margin-block-end: 0px; margin-block-start: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-inline-end: 0px; margin-inline-start: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; perspective-origin: 2px 8px; transform-origin: 2px 8px; unicode-bidi: normal; "><span style=""> </span></span><a target='_blank' href = "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newton%27s_law_of_universal_gravitation"><span style=""><span style="perspective-origin: 225.5px 8px; transform-origin: 225.5px 8px; ">&lt;https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newton%27s_law_of_universal_gravitation</span></span></a><span style="block-size: auto; display: inline; margin-block-end: 0px; margin-block-start: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-inline-end: 0px; margin-inline-start: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; perspective-origin: 152.5px 8px; transform-origin: 152.5px 8px; unicode-bidi: normal; "><span style="">&gt;); 2) The centripetal force maintaining the orbit (see:</span></span><span style="block-size: auto; display: inline; margin-block-end: 0px; margin-block-start: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-inline-end: 0px; margin-inline-start: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; perspective-origin: 2px 8px; transform-origin: 2px 8px; unicode-bidi: normal; "><span style=""> </span></span><a target='_blank' href = "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centripetal_force#Formula"><span style=""><span style="">&lt;https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centripetal_force#Formula</span></span></a><span style="block-size: auto; display: inline; margin-block-end: 0px; margin-block-start: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-inline-end: 0px; margin-inline-start: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; perspective-origin: 190px 8px; transform-origin: 190px 8px; unicode-bidi: normal; "><span style="">&gt;) should be equal to the gravitational force; 3) Hmmm... but what about the mass of the satellite?</span></span></div><div style="block-size: 21px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 21px; margin-block-end: 9px; margin-block-start: 2px; margin-bottom: 9px; margin-inline-end: 10px; margin-inline-start: 4px; margin-left: 4px; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 2px; perspective-origin: 384px 10.5px; text-align: left; transform-origin: 384px 10.5px; white-space: pre-wrap; margin-left: 4px; margin-top: 2px; margin-bottom: 9px; margin-right: 10px; "><span style="block-size: auto; display: inline; margin-block-end: 0px; margin-block-start: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-inline-end: 0px; margin-inline-start: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; perspective-origin: 321px 8px; transform-origin: 321px 8px; unicode-bidi: normal; "><span style="">Example: The altitude of a geostationary satellite, with orbit period 86164.0905 s is around 35,793 km.</span></span></div><div style="block-size: 42px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 21px; margin-block-end: 9px; margin-block-start: 2px; margin-bottom: 9px; margin-inline-end: 10px; margin-inline-start: 4px; margin-left: 4px; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 2px; perspective-origin: 384px 21px; text-align: left; transform-origin: 384px 21px; white-space: pre-wrap; margin-left: 4px; margin-top: 2px; margin-bottom: 9px; margin-right: 10px; "><span style="block-size: auto; display: inline; margin-block-end: 0px; margin-block-start: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-inline-end: 0px; margin-inline-start: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; perspective-origin: 384px 8px; transform-origin: 384px 8px; unicode-bidi: normal; "><span style="font-style: italic; ">Some future problems in this series will build on work done in previous problems, so if you get a working solution I suggest you hang onto the code!</span></span></div></div></div>

Satellite and Space Engineering - Problem #4
This is part of a series of problems looking at topics in satellite and space communications and systems engineering.
Determine the altitude (height above the surface of the Earth) for a satellite in a circular Earth orbit with a known orbit period.
You are given the satellite orbit period (in s). Calculate the orbit altitude (in km).
You should take the radius of the Earth to be 6371km, the mass of the Earth to be 5.9722e24 kg and Newton's Universal Gravitational Constant to be 6.6743015e-11 m3/kg/s.
Hints: 1) Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation will tell you the force between the satellite and the Earth (see: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newton%27s_law_of_universal_gravitation>); 2) The centripetal force maintaining the orbit (see: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centripetal_force#Formula>) should be equal to the gravitational force; 3) Hmmm... but what about the mass of the satellite?
Example: The altitude of a geostationary satellite, with orbit period 86164.0905 s is around 35,793 km.
Some future problems in this series will build on work done in previous problems, so if you get a working solution I suggest you hang onto the code!

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Nikolaos Nikolaou on 27 Feb 2022

Test 4 is broken (tries to check for regexp usage) and this problem appears in two groups so plz fix :/

Jose Matos on 20 May 2022

The units of G are m^3/kg/s^2.

Christian Schröder on 16 Oct 2022

@Jose Matos, thanks --- I was just looking at the units and wondering why there was an extra [s] left!

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Problem 45553. SatCom #4: Satellite Orbit Altitude

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