Spark image

Orbit injection

The satellite may have enough energy to reach the orbit height but it still needs to be given the correct tangential velocity to put it into orbit.

For an orbit of radius r this is given by v2/r = GM/r2 or rearranging this v= (GM/r)1/2

You can see from Figure 1 the effect of differing launch velocities on the shape of the final satellite orbit.

 

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© Keith Gibbs 2020