how do satellites fly so fast in orbit?

Answer 1

because they just keep moving. Earth's gravity pulls it in, but it's going too fast to fall. It flies up at start on a rocket, really really really really really really fast, then detaches from rocket. there is nothing in its way like water or air so it just keeps going.

Answer 2

They are launched on rockets that carry many times the satellite's own mass in fuel. As a rule of thumb it takes over 20 tons of rocket fuel to put a one ton satellite in orbit. Satellites in low Earth orbit do about 18,000 mph. If they were slowed down at all, they's no longer be in orbit and would burn up in the atmosphere. But the farther you get from Earth, the weaker the pull of gravity, and a satellite in a circular orbit moves slower. In higher orbits, for example the Geostationary orbit 22,300 miles high, their speed only need be 6,900 mph. Our Moon, which is after all a satellite 240,000 miles away, only orbits the Earth at 2,300 mph.

Answer 3

The initial speed of a satellite is approx. 17,000 mph. By the laws of physics, the satellite would continue on in a straight line, never to be seen again, EXCEPT that earth's gravity 'pulls' on it and the 'orbit' ensues. The great minds at NASA figure out the 'minutia' involved in how far away from earth and the angles needed to produce a successful orbit.

The 'optimum' speed of flight for a satellite is as stated. This is a natural occurrence involving the 'inertia' of the object to continue in a straight line and the pull of gravity. Of course, in the end, gravity wins and all satellites eventually 'fall' to earth. They usually break up and disintegrate before any chance of reaching the surface due to the incredible heat produced during 're-entry' into our atmosphere.

Answer 4

take a tether ball and swing it by the string by spinning around like you trying to make yourself dizzy. now imagine your the earth and the string is gravity and the ball is the satellite.even though your only taking small steps to spin the ball,it has to keep up to you without dropping,so the longer the string the faster the ball travels.That's a crude example but the satellite will all so eventually come back to earth depending on how high from the earth the orbit is ,or if its too high it will fling off into space ,kinda like tubing behind a speed boat on water and the driver turns so hard you cant hang onto the tube and ya let go and go skimming across the water.hope that helps a little.

Answer 5

Satellites are essentially falling and they have to travel at least the radius of the earth before then fall a distance equal to the radius of the earth. Once they can do that they can continue to orbit forever (sort of).

So the answer is that they have to. If you can't get them up to the right speed they will just fall to earth. This is why you need great big rocket engines to accelerate them to those speeds

Answer 6

Sattelites are basically falling in a giant spiral. They are constantly losing altitude, but it is so minute that it would take a long time for them to re-enter the atmosphere, and they have thrusters to adjust their altitude and orbit. If you took a yo-yo and unfirled it, then swung it in a wide circle, and then let it begin to catch on your finger....loosing more and more string with each round, getting closer to your finger...this is the way a sattelite goes around the earth...on a much larger scale though.

Answer 7

Satellites are basically falling around the earth. With no atmosphere to produce friction and wind resistance.. a much greater speed can be achieved.

Answer 8

If you were to throw a ball, at 10 mph, and it continued to go and go and go, because something was pulling at it, it would continue at 10mph.

If a rocket goes into orbit at 27,000mph or whatever speed, earth will continue to pull it, and it will continue at 27,000mph.

Answer 9

It don't go fast at all! It just stays in one spot strait up,and the earth turns at about 20,000 miles per hour! I think!