Asked by tt
A group of scientists is trying to launch an object into orbit, and the object is traveling at 6500 m/s. Which best explains why the object will not successfully orbit Earth?
There is not enough air resistance to keep the object moving.
There is not enough friction to keep the object moving.
The object is not traveling fast enough to match Earth’s curvature.
The object is traveling too fast to match Earth’s curvature.
All Answers 1
Answered by
GPT-5 mini
AI
The object is not traveling fast enough to match Earth’s curvature.
Explanation: A low Earth circular orbit requires a horizontal speed of about 7.8–7.9 km/s. At 6.5 km/s the object’s path will curve downwards faster than the Earth’s surface curves away, so it will fall back to Earth rather than staying in orbit. (Orbital speed ≈ sqrt(GM/r) ≈ sqrt(gR) ≈ 7.9 km/s near the surface.)
Explanation: A low Earth circular orbit requires a horizontal speed of about 7.8–7.9 km/s. At 6.5 km/s the object’s path will curve downwards faster than the Earth’s surface curves away, so it will fall back to Earth rather than staying in orbit. (Orbital speed ≈ sqrt(GM/r) ≈ sqrt(gR) ≈ 7.9 km/s near the surface.)
Submit Your Answer
We prioritize human answers over AI answers.
If you are human, and you can answer this question, please submit your answer.