An astronaut moves on a circular orbit around the earth.what is the average speed for a whole revolution?

1 Answer
Jan 13, 2018

# Speed = "distance traveled"/"time of the trip" rArr "circumference"/"period" rArr (2pi R)/T#
#Speed ~~"5 miles"/s # for low orbits;
#Speed~~ "2 miles"/s# for geosynchronous orbit

Explanation:

To get a numerical value of the speed, you need to know the distance of the astronaut from the center of the earth and the time period to complete the round trip.

A typical satellite speed is between 2-5 miles/s.

Bear in mind that the speed of sound is only 0.2 miles/s. And a typical commerical airplane travels #~~ 65% #of speed of sound.