Name: ________________________________ Class: _______ Date: ________________

Satellite Motion - Sputnik

YouTube Videos: Total Mechanical Energy of a
Satellite: https://tinyurl.com/4c7tnphe
Energy Needed to Launch a Satellite into Orbit:
https://tinyurl.com/7e7zjut5

(1) Sputnik 1 was the first artificial Earth satellite. It

was launched into an elliptical low Earth orbit by the
USSR on 4 October 1957 as part of the Soviet space
program. It orbited for three weeks before its batteries
died and then orbited silently for two months before it
fell back into the atmosphere on the 4th of January
1958. It was a polished metal sphere 58 cm (23 in) in
Sputnik
diameter with four external radio antennas to
broadcast radio pulses. Its radio signal was easily
detectable by radio amateurs, and the 65° orbital inclination and duration of its orbit made its flight
path cover virtually the entire inhabited Earth.

Sputnik 1 Orbital Period 96.1 min

Sputnik 1 Mass 83.6 kg
Earth Mass 5.97 • 1024 kg
Earth Radius 6 378 km

When answering the following questions assume that Sputnik 1 followed a circular orbit.

a) What was the orbital height of Sputnik above the Earth's surface? Give your answer in km.

b) What was the Earth's gravitational field g strength at this height?

c) What was the gravitational force between Earth and Sputnik when it was in orbit?

d) What was the orbital velocity of Sputnik? Give your answer in km/s.

e) What was the potential energy, the kinetic energy and the total mechanical energy of Sputnik
in its orbit?

f) How much work was done on Sputnik to bring it into its orbit? Assume Sputnik 1 is launched
from the equator.

© Brian Swarthout 2021