Dynamics 2e 1197
Problem 6.32
Ageosynchronous equatorial orbit is a circular orbit above the Earth’s
equator that has a period of
1
day (these are sometimes called geostationary
orbits). These geostationary orbits are of great importance for telecommu-
nications satellites because a satellite orbiting with the same angular rate
as the rotation rate of the Earth will appear to hover in the same point in
the sky as seen by a person standing on the surface of the Earth. Using
this information, modeling a geosynchronous satellite as a rigid body, and
noting that the satellite has been stabilized so that the same side always
faces the Earth, determine the angular speed !sof the satellite.
Solution
The motion of the satellite is a fixed-axis rotation about the center of the Earth where the axis is perpendicular
to the plane of the satellite’s orbit. For the satellite to be geosynchronous, the satellite’s angular velocity must
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