Ask an Explainer

Q:

What is the amount of gravitational acceleration produced on the geostationary satellite?

A:

Gravitational acceleration depends on how high a satellite orbits an object. To calculate gravitational acceleration, the mass of both the satellite and the object are multiplied together, and that number is divided by the satellite’s height. The general rule is that acceleration decreases with height: higher objects have less acceleration. For a geostationary satellite, which orbits at about 37,600 km, the gravitational acceleration computes as approximately 0.31 meters per second squared. This is only 0.03g, or three percent of the gravity we feel right now. This means that the satellite does not feel much gravitational acceleration at all!

 

Ask an Explainer
Categories: