Question

A spaceship is in orbit around the earth at an altitude of 400 miles. a) Draw...

A spaceship is in orbit around the earth at an altitude of 400 miles.

a) Draw a Force Body Diagram for an 80 kg astronaut.

b) Describe (or calculate) the astronaut's weight at this location.

c) Explain why the astronauts on the ship experience "weightlessness."

Homework Answers

Answer #1

First, I will find the value of g at 400 miles

400 miles = 643.738 km

g = Gm / r2

here r is the distance from center of earth to the spaceship

radius of earth = 6370 Km

r = 6370 + 643.738 = 7013.738 Km

g = 6.67e-11*5.98e24 / (7013.738 * 1000)2

g = 8.108 m/s2

Thereforem weight of astronaut is

W = mg

W = 80 * 8.108

W = 648.66 N

astronauts on the ship experience "weightlessness because there are no external objects touching our body and exerting a push or pull upon it. Weightlessness exist when all contact forces are removed. This is common when we are in a free fall.

Know the answer?
Your Answer:

Post as a guest

Your Name:

What's your source?

Earn Coins

Coins can be redeemed for fabulous gifts.

Not the answer you're looking for?
Ask your own homework help question
Similar Questions
A satellite is in a circular orbit around the Earth at an altitude of 3.32 106...
A satellite is in a circular orbit around the Earth at an altitude of 3.32 106 m. (a) Find the period of the orbit. (Hint: Modify Kepler's third law so it is suitable for objects orbiting the Earth rather than the Sun. The radius of the Earth is 6.38 106 m, and the mass of the Earth is 5.98 1024 kg.) h (b) Find the speed of the satellite. km/s (c) Find the acceleration of the satellite. m/s2 toward the...
A satellite is in a circular orbit around the Earth at an altitude of 1.66 106...
A satellite is in a circular orbit around the Earth at an altitude of 1.66 106 m. (a) Find the period of the orbit (in hrs). (Hint: Modify Kepler's third law: T2 = (4π2/GMS)r3 so it is suitable for objects orbiting the Earth rather than the Sun. The radius of the Earth is 6.38 106 m, and the mass of the Earth is 5.98 1024 kg.) (b) Find the speed of the satellite (in km/s). (c) Find the acceleration of...
A satellite is in a circular orbit around the Earth at an altitude of 3.84  106 m....
A satellite is in a circular orbit around the Earth at an altitude of 3.84  106 m. (a) Find the period of the orbit. (Hint: Modify Kepler's third law so it is suitable for objects orbiting the Earth rather than the Sun. The radius of the Earth is 6.38  106 m, and the mass of the Earth is 5.98  1024 kg.) h (b) Find the speed of the satellite. km/s (c) Find the acceleration of the satellite. m/s2 toward the center of the...
A Titan IV rocket has put your spacecraft in a circular orbit around Earth at an...
A Titan IV rocket has put your spacecraft in a circular orbit around Earth at an altitude of 260 km. Calculate the force due to gravitational attraction between the Earth and the spacecraft in N if the mass of the spacecraft is 2150 kg.
A satellite of mass 350 kg is in a circular orbit around the Earth at an...
A satellite of mass 350 kg is in a circular orbit around the Earth at an altitude equal to the Earth's mean radius. (a) Find the satellite's orbital speed. m/s (b) What is the period of its revolution? min (c) Calculate the gravitational force acting on it. N
The Hubble Space Telescope orbits the Earth at an altitude of about 350 miles (570 km)....
The Hubble Space Telescope orbits the Earth at an altitude of about 350 miles (570 km). The Earth has a radius of about 3950 miles (6350 km). The gravitational constant is G = 6.674 x 10-11 m3/kg/s2. The telescope has a mass of 11,110 kg. The Earth has a mass of 5.97 x 1024 kg. (Hint: Convert all distances to meters first.) a) What is the force of gravity on the telescope? b) How fast is the telescope orbiting around...
Problem 3) The Gravitational Force: The average distance between the center of the Earth and the...
Problem 3) The Gravitational Force: The average distance between the center of the Earth and the center of the Moon is 384,000 km. A 3.00 x 10^4 kg spaceship is located halfway between the center of the Earth and the center of the Moon. Let the Earth be to the right of the spaceship and the Moon be to the left. a) Draw a force diagram of the spaceship. b) Solve for the net force (magnitude and direction) acting on...
On December 1, 2005, a spacecraft left a 180 km altitude circular orbit around Earth on...
On December 1, 2005, a spacecraft left a 180 km altitude circular orbit around Earth on a mission to Venus. It arrived at Venus 121 days later on April 1, 2006, entering a 300 km by 9000 km capture ellipse around the planet. Calculate the total delta v required for this mission.
An Earth satellite is in a circular orbit at an altitude of 500 km. Explain why...
An Earth satellite is in a circular orbit at an altitude of 500 km. Explain why the work done by the gravitational force acting on the satellite is zero. Using the work-energy theorem, what can you say about the speed of the satellite?
Equation 6.10,, in your book gives the period of an orbit around the earth as a...
Equation 6.10,, in your book gives the period of an orbit around the earth as a function of the orbit’s radius. Using this equation answer the following questions. What is the period of the orbit of the International Space Station given that its altitude above the surface of the earth is 254 miles? Replacing the mass of the earth with the mass of the sun, and knowing that Saturn has an orbital period of 29 years, use the same equation...
ADVERTISEMENT
Need Online Homework Help?

Get Answers For Free
Most questions answered within 1 hours.

Ask a Question
ADVERTISEMENT