What force would cause a satellite to slow down and lose altitude?

As mentioned above, the force of gravity does work upon a satellite to slow it down as it moves away from the earth and to speed it up as it moves towards the earth. So if the speed is changing, the kinetic energy will also be changing.

What causes satellites to lose altitude?

Atmospheric drag at orbital altitude is caused by frequent collisions of gas molecules with the satellite. It is the major cause of orbital decay for satellites in low Earth orbit. It results in the reduction in the altitude of a satellite’s orbit.

What would happen if a satellite orbiting Earth started slowing down?

If the satellite slows down it would crash into the object it is orbiting. The satellite could be knocked or moved closer or farther from the object it is orbiting. If it moved closer, gravity would pull more strongly, if it moved farther, gravity would have less of a pull.

Do satellites experience drag?

Drag has a significant impact on spacecraft in low Earth orbit (LEO), generally defined as an orbit below an altitude of approximately 2,000 kilometers (1,200 mi). The drag force on satellites increases during times when the Sun is active.

How do you slow down a satellite?

For the closer satellites, engineers will use its last bit of fuel to slow it down. That way, it will fall out of orbit and burn up in the atmosphere. The second choice is to send the satellite even farther away from Earth. It can take a lot of fuel for a satellite to slow down enough to fall back into the atmosphere.

What happens when satellite loses energy?

So the drag from the air slows the satellite down, the satellite loses energy and the size of the orbit gets smaller and smaller until it gets into a part of the air where friction builds up so much that the satellite just burns up.

What happens if you slow down in orbit?

As the spacecraft moves down, the potential energy decreases. It turns out the potential energy decreases more than energy needed to orbit. So, if you just “fell” to a lower orbit, you would be going too fast to be in a circular orbit.

What happens to an object that is orbiting Earth too slow?

Even with gravity, if the intended satellite goes too fast, it will eventually fly away. On the other hand, if the satellite goes too slowly, gravity will pull it back to Earth.

How the satellites are affected due to atmospheric drag?

Atmospheric satellite drag Since the satellite’s velocity and the neutral gas density increase with decreasing altitude, the amount of drag quickly increases, causing a satellite to reenter Earth’s atmosphere and either burn up or crash to the surface.