An astronaut is piloting a spacecraft, which is in a circular orbit around Earth. A space station is ahead, on the same circular orbit. If he fires his rockets briefly to decrease the forward speed of the rocket, what will happen?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The Answer is The spacecraft will be put into an elliptical orbit with an apogee equal to the original radius.The average radius of this orbit is smaller,so it will take less time to complete one revolution.So if the speed increment is calculated correctly,when he completes one revolution,bringing him back to the original radius,he could be caught up with the station.At that point,a forward burst could put him in the same circular orbit as the station.

An Astronaut Is Piloting a Spacecraft, Which Is in a Circular