The geostationary orbit of the earth is at a distance of about 36000 km from the earth's surface. Find the weight of a 120-kg equipment placed in a geostationary satellite. The radius of the earth is 6400 km.
Given
The radius of the earth = 6400 km.
weight of equipment = 120-kg
Also, the geostationary orbit of the earth is at a distance of about 36000 km from the earth's surface.
We know that the value acceleration due to gravity above the surface of the Earth is given by-
Where,
G= universal gravitational constant
m = mass of the object
R= radius of the earth and
h = height from surface of earth
Substituting the values and calculating g’ for h = 36000km, we will get
At surface of earth, acceleration due to gravity is 9.8 m/s2
Taking their ratios
Now, the required satellite weight will be-