A satellite,moving in an elliptical orbit, is 420 km above Earth's Surface at its farthest point and 210km above at its closest point.Then Calculate the Eccentricity of the Orbit?

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Answer 1 · 2017-04-28T09:46:47

The eccentricity of the satellite's orbit is 1/3.

Given the aphelion distance and the perihelion distance we can calculate the semi-major axis #a# and the eccentricity #e#.

The aphelion distance is:

#a+ae=420#

The perihelion distance is:

#a-ae=210#

Adding the equations gives:

#2a=630#

Subtracting the equations gives:

#2ae=210#

Divide both side by #2a#, substituting the value #630#, and simplifying gives:

#e=210/(2a)=210/630=1/3#

Hence the eccentricity of the orbit is 1/3.