How do satellites orbit the Earth?
Satellites are, to some degree, “mysterious” objects. They travel in space, which feels like an exotic place because most of us have never been there. They are so far away that we cannot see them. They usually cost millions or billions of dollars, which means none of us will ever own one personally. And so on Orbital mechanics can also be mysterious because there is no easy way for us to experience orbital mechanics personally. However, with a little imagination, you can understand the basic idea behind orbital mechanics very easily. It turns out that we play with orbital mechanics all the time! Think about what happens when you throw a ball. Imagine that you are standing in a big field and throw a baseball as hard as you can — like a pitcher. The ball might go 100 feet (30 meters) and then hit the ground. You put the ball in orbit — It’s just that a ball’s orbit is very short! Now imagine that you shot a rifle straight and level instead of throwing a ba
