There are currently 6500+
SATELLITES
satellites orbiting the Earth!
Learning intentions
● Newton’s thought experiment
● Low Earth, medium Earth and high Earth orbit satellites
● Geostationary satellites
Success criteria
● I can use Newton’s thought experiment to explain the motion of a satellite
● I can explain why the orbital period of a satellite increases with its height
● I can give examples of uses of satellites
● I can describe what a geostationary satellite is
● I have conducted a research task on a chosen satellite
● I have practiced using a calculator and powers of 10 to answer questions
regarding satellite communication
There are currently 6500+
satellites orbiting the Earth!
How far is space?
How far is space?... Well not that far!
Commonly accepted end of atmosphere and beginning of space is 100 km of
altitude.
Think about an orange: the atmosphere is the skin
Remember!!!
Definition of a satellite:
A small body which moves
around a large body. It
can be either natural or
artificial.
Try to draw in your jotter the trajectory (path) of the football ball in these 2 cases
Try to draw in your jotter the trajectory (path) of the football ball in these 2 cases
What force(s) act(s)
on the football?
Newton’s thought experiment
[Link]
Newton’s thought experiment [Link]
Have a try yourself!
If the projectile is too slow, it hits the
ground.
If the projectile is too fast, it will leave
the Earth gravitational field.
For the right speed, the projectile
falls with the same curvature as the
Earth and orbits the Earth forever!
IMPORTANT!
● Satellites DO NOT float
● Satellites constantly fall but the curve of their path
matches the curve the Earth
Some definitions
● Orbit: trajectory (path) of an object
around a larger object
● Orbital period: the time it takes a
satellite to complete one orbit
Some definitions
● Orbit: trajectory (path) of an object
around a larger object
● Orbital period: the time it takes a
satellite to complete one orbit
● How do you think the orbital
period varies with the height?
Some definitions
● Orbit: trajectory (path) of an object
around a larger object
● Orbital period: the time it takes a
satellite to complete one orbit
● The higher the satellite the longer
the orbital period
How high are satellites?
[Link]
Types of orbits
Medium Earth orbit (2000 km < High Earth orbit (>36,0000 km):
height < 36,000 km): navigation communication
Low Earth orbit (<2000 km):
observation, science, etc
Earth
Geostationary satellites
● Geostationary satellites go
around the Earth in 24 Hours.
● Because their motion matches
the Earth’s rotation, they appear
still in the sky.
● They are 36,000 km high
● They are used for TV/radio
True or False?
1. The gravitational force due to Earth on a satellite is zero
2. If there was no gravitational force a satellite would fly away in a straight line
3. The Earth is a satellite for the Sun
4. The orbital period of a satellite is how many times a satellite orbits the Earth in
one day
5. A geostationary satellite appears still in the sky for an observer on Earth
6. The altitude of a geostationary satellite is 36,000 km
7. 36,000 km is mid Earth orbit
8. The higher the altitude the longer the orbital period
Some satellites and their use - part 1
International Space Station
Size 108.5 m x 72.8 m
Distance from the 405 km
Earth surface
Orbital period 92.65 minutes
Orbits per day 15.54
Orbital speed 7.67 km/s
Orbital inclination 51.64 degrees
Some satellites and their use - part 2
Have a try at those websites tracking planes, ships
and satellites in real-time
Planes:
[Link]
Ships:
[Link]
Satellites:
[Link]
Satellites:
[Link]
Note:
By default, the only satellites that appear on the map are GPS satellites (there are
24 of them), the ISS and the Hubble Space Telescope. But you can view more
satellites by clicking on ‘select satellites’ and selecting weather satellites for
example.
Satellite research task
Choose a satellite on [Link]
Make a presentation that includes:
Include a picture
● Name of the satellite
● Mass, size and a flag of the
● Owner country of origin
● Launch date and location
● Type of satellite (near-polar or geostationary)
● What it is used for? (Telecommunications, TV, weather, etc)
● Altitude
● Orbital period
● Orbital speed (you will need to do some calculation for that…)
The Sentinal-6 altimeter
Sentinel-6 is a type of satellite that
is called an altimeter.
Its role is to measure the sea
level.
It does that by sending radio
waves (which travel at the speed
of light i.e. 3 x 108 m/s) and
measuring the time it takes for
them to return after reflecting off
the sea surface.
Questions
1. At which speed do radio waves travel in space and in the atmosphere?
2. It takes about 8.90 x 10-3 s for radio waves sent by Sentinel-6 to be
returned. Can you find out the altitude of Sentinel-6?
3. Another satellite called Geostat sends waves that take 5.33 x 10-3 s to
be returned. Can you find out its altitude?
4. How long would it take radio waves sent by a satellite at an orbit of 2350
km to be returned?
5. How long would it take for radio waves sent by a TV satellite in
d = vt
geostationary orbit to reach the Earth? t = d/v
