PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - international space station ......
View Single Post
Old 16th Feb 2003, 10:44
  #2 (permalink)  
Tinstaafl
 
Join Date: Dec 1998
Location: Escapee from Ultima Thule
Posts: 4,273
Received 2 Likes on 2 Posts
Average velocity = Zero. - if you're using Earth as the frame of reference.


Its speed can be calculated if the orbit height is known.

P= 2 Pi (a^3/u)^1/2


P: orbital period
a: the semi-major axis of the orbit (same as the radius of the circle for a circular orbit!)
u: gravitational parameter ( ~398601 km3 / Sec2 for Earth)


dist = 2 PIE r

r: orbit radius = orbit height + Earth's own radius


speed = dist / time = 2 PIE r / P



A shortcut:

For near Earth orbits, if distances are measured in Earth radii, the circular orbital speed is

Speed= 7.907 A^-½ km/s

A = units of Earth radii

This is because the speed inversely to the square of the orbit radius. At the Earth's surface orbital speed is 7.907 km/s




Edited because I can't spell 'Pi'.

Just discovered my g/f can though.


That's what I get for posting before lunch...

Last edited by Tinstaafl; 16th Feb 2003 at 22:44.
Tinstaafl is offline