Low Earth orbit (LEO) is approximately 150 miles (240 km) above the surface of the Earth. The radius and mass of the Earth are 6.37 $\times$ 10⁶ m and 5.98 $\times$ 10²⁴ kg. If an object in LEO has a mass of 20 kg, its weight is

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The weight of an object in LEO is calculated using the gravitational force formula: $ F = \frac{G \cdot m_1 \cdot m_2}{r^2} $. Here, $ G $ is the gravitational constant, $ m_1 $ is the mass of the Earth, $ m_2 $ is the mass of the object, and $ r $ is the distance from the center of the Earth to the object. In LEO, the distance $ r $ is the Earth's radius plus the altitude of the orbit. Calculating this gives a weight of approximately 9.1 N.

Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Is Approximately 150 Miles (240 Km) ×\times×

Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Is Approximately 150 Miles (240 Km) $\times$