For a satellite orbiting the Earth, there is force of
gravitation between the Earth and the satellite that keeps it in the required orbit.
Else the satellite would move in a tangential straight
line.
Now the Gravitational force is given as G*Ms*Me*/R^2,
where Ms is the mass of the satellite, Me is the mass of the Earth, R is the distance of
the satellite from the Earth and G is the universal gravitational
constant.
Now depending of the speed of the satellite the
centripetal force can be expressed as Ms*v^2/R
Equating the
two we get G*Ms*Me*/R^2 = Ms*v^2/R
=> G*Me/R =
v^2
=> R =
[G*Me/v^2]
So we see that the radius of the satellite’s
orbit or what is its distance from the Earth is not decided by its mass, but rather by
the speed it is moving at. A faster satellite orbits closer to the Earth and a slower
satellite orbits farther from the Earth.
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