Question

A satellite,moving in an elliptical orbit, is 420 km above Earth's Surface at its farthest point and 210km above at its closest point.Then Calculate the Eccentricity of the Orbit?

Answer 1

The eccentricity of the satellite's orbit is 1/3.

Explanation:

Given the aphelion distance and the perihelion distance we can calculate the semi-major axis `a` and the eccentricity `e`.

The aphelion distance is:

`a+ae=420`

The perihelion distance is:

`a-ae=210`

Adding the equations gives:

`2a=630`

Subtracting the equations gives:

`2ae=210`

Divide both side by `2a`, substituting the value `630`, and simplifying gives:

`e=210/(2a)=210/630=1/3`

Hence the eccentricity of the orbit is 1/3.