*23. ssmA 6200-kg satellite is in a circular earth orbit that has a radius of 3.3 x 107 m. A net external force must act on the satellite to make it change to a circular orbit that has a radius of 7.0 x 106 m. What work W must the net external force do? Note that the work determined here is not the work Wlift done by the satellite’s engines to change the orbit. Instead, the work W is W = Wlift + Wgravitational, where Wgravitational is the work done by the gravitational force.

 

Work – Energy Theorem

 

 

Consider the sum of the forces when the satellite is in a stable gravitational orbit

 

Solving for

Plug this into Work-Energy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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This page last updated on January 11, 2020