Why are satellites launched from near the equator?
When you calculate the centripetal force at the equator it is 0.033 m/s2 (m v2/R) This means that there is approximately 0.3 % variation in the force that attracts a body towards the center of the earth between the equator and the north pole (where without precession no rotation would be felt). This would mean that it would be attractive to send rockets from the equator because it would save 0.3% in fuel. Is this true? Reply Your argument is well known, but it is usually phrased differently. The centrifugal force acts only in a rotating system. Once an object is detached from that system, putting the centrifugal force into a calculation may lead to incorrect result. Example: your bicycle wheel picks up a piece of mud from the road. As long as the mud is attached, it feels an outward force, a centrifugal force (in the frame of reference of the rotating wheel). Once it works loose, however, it does not fly in the direction of that force, but tangentially to the wheel! However… launchin
