A satellite orbits the Earth in a circular orbit of radius r. At some point its rocket engine is fired in such a way that its speed increases rapidly by a small amount. As a result, do the apogee distance increase, decrease, or stay the same? As a result, do the perigee distance increase, decrease, or stay the same?

The shape of orbit changes from circular to elliptical when rocket is fired as the speed of rocket increases. Therefore, the apogee distance keeps increasing as speed of rocket increases while the perigee distance remains constant.

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AFOKE88 AFOKE88 · Answer 2 · 2021-11-10T22:16:56+01:00

When the rocket engine of a satellite orbiting the earth is fired in such a way that its speed increases rapidly by a small amount, we can say that;

- The Apogee distance will Increase

- The perigee distance will remain the same

To answer this question, let us define apogee and perigee.

Apogee is defined as the farthest distance of the moon or a satellite from the earth while going through it's orbit.

Meanwhile, perigee is defined as the closest distance of the moon or satellite from the earth while it is going through its' orbit.

Now, we are told that a satellite orbits the earth in a circular orbit of radius r.

Furthermore, that at some point, its' rocket engine is fired in such a way that its' speed increases rapidly by a small amount.

Since its' speed increases rapidly it means the farthest distance from the earth will keep increasing while the closest distance to the earth will remain the same.

In conclusion, we can say that the Perigee distance will remain the same while the Apogee distance will keep increasing.

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