Modern Middle East International School Riyadh

Physics Investigatory Project

Academic Year (2022-2023)

Submitted by: - Teacher In-Charge

Ajna Saj Mrs. Blessy Thomas
Class: XI A PGT Physics
“HOW DO SATELLITES
WORK”
A study done by Ajna Saj
 CERTIFCATE

I hereby certify that the project work entitled

“How Do Satellites Work”
caried out to study and investigate about the subject matter, has been
completed solely and sincerely by Ajna Saj,
In partial fulfilment of the Physics Practical Examination
(2022-2023)

I certify that the project is done by me under the direct supervision

and guidance of the teacher as per the requirement of the Board Exam

Head of institution Teacher In-Charge

Mrs. Shabana Parveen Mrs. Blessy Thomas
Principal PGT Physics
Modern Middle East Modern Middle East
International School- Riyadh International School- Riyadh
 DECLARATION

I hereby declare that the project work entitled

“How Do Satellites Work”
is prepared by me after detailed investigation about the
subject matter and the related data collection from the partial
fulfilment of the
Physics Practical Examination (2022-2023)

Ajna Saj
 Acknowledgement

The work described in the project has been done with the
guidance of my teachers.
I wish to thank Mrs. Blessy Thomas, our Physics teacher for
the guidance and support for the fulfilment of the project.
I would like to extend my gratitude and vote of thanks
to Mrs. Shabana Parveen, our Principal and Mrs. Zainab Jafri,
our headmistress for their constant encouragement and moral
support.
I would like to thank Mrs. Tabassum Farooqi, our academic
director for her guidance and for providing a very nice
platform to learn.
Finally, I would like to thank my parents, colleagues, and
friends for their source of inspiration.
 INDEX

• Introduction: What is a Satellite

• Natural and Artificial Satellite
• Types of Artificial Satellites
• Geostationary Satellites
• Polar Satellites
• Essential conditions for satellites
• Motion of a Satellite
• Orbital Velocity of a Satellite
• Launching a satellite
• Polar Satellite Launching Vehicles
• Geostationary Satellite Launching Vehicles
• Summary
• Conclusion
• Bibliography
 WHAT IS A SATELLITE?
A satellite is any object that moves in a curved path around a
planet. The moon is Earth's original, natural satellite, and there
are many man-made or artificial satellites, usually closer to
Earth. The path a satellite follows is an orbit, sometimes takes
the shape of a circle or an ellipse.
Sir Isaac Newton proposed that a force -- gravity -- exists
between any two objects in the universe. If it weren't for this
force, a satellite in motion near a planet would continue in
motion at the same speed and in the same direction, a straight
line. This straight-line inertial path of a satellite, however, is
balanced by a strong gravitational attraction directed toward the
center of the planet.
Sometimes, a satellite's orbit looks like an ellipse, a squashed
circle that moves around two points known as foci. The same
basic laws of motion apply, except that the planet is located at
one of the foci. As a result, the net force applied to the satellite
isn't uniform all the way around the orbit, and the speed of the
satellite changes constantly. It moves fastest when it's closest
to the planet -- a point known as perigee -- and slowest when
it's farthest from the planet -- a point known as apogee.
 NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL SATELLITE

Any celestial body present in space that revolves around a

planet larger than it in a fixed orbit is called the natural
satellites. The solar system consists of six planetary satellite
system out of which 205 satellites are known to be natural
satellites. These satellites are analogously larger and orbit in
larger radii. Their surface are generally made up of various
gases or Rocky Mountains.
Example: The moon is the natural satellite of Earth similarly,
Earth, Jupiter and Venus orbits around the Sun in their fixed
orbit.

Any object that people have made and launched into orbit
using rockets is called the artificial satellite. Presently, there
are over a thousand active satellites orbiting the Earth. The
satellite’s size, altitude and design depend on the use of the
satellite. These satellites are also fitted with delicate
instruments and cameras, made to rotate around planets in
pre-fixed orbits and are launched by rockets from the Earth.
Example: Sputnik-I
 TYPES OF ARTIFICIAL SATELLITES
Based on the direction of the motion of the satellites and the distance
from the Earth’s surface, the artificial satellites are broadly classified
into two:
GEOSTATIONARY SATELLITES:

POLAR ORBITING SATELLITES:

 GEOSTATIONARY SATELLITES
A satellite which revolves around the Earth in its equatorial
plane with the same angular speed and in the same direction
as the Earth rotates about its axis is called Geostationary/
Synchronous Satellite.
• These satellites are high orbit satellites that orbit around
the earth in approximately 36000 km away orbits.
The height of a geostationary satellite can be calculated
by h = (T2 R2 g)1/3 - R
(4π2)1/3
• The orbit in which they are staying is called parking orbit
or geostationary orbit.
• The geostationary satellites are called so because
geostationary satellite revolves in an equatorial linear orbit
due to which they orbit around the Earth at the same rate
as the Earth rotates so that the satellites are over the same
spot on Earth all the time and so appeared stationary in
reference to the Earth.
• The revolutionary time period of geostationary satellites is
around 24 hours which is equal to the rotational period of
planet Earth.
• These satellites are generally used as communication and
weather satellites.
• Some examples of such satellites are INSAT of India,
Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite
(GEOS) of USA, Himawari of Japan, Meteosat of Europe
etc.
 POLAR SATELLITES
A satellite which revolves in apolar orbit perpendicular to the
equatorial plane of the Earth is called Polar Satellites.

• These satellites are low orbit satellites that orbit around the
earth in approximately 500-800 km away orbits.
• The orbit at which they are staying is called polar orbit.
• A polar-orbiting satellite passes near to or directly over the
pole on each orbit. With the earth turning underneath it this
means that the polar-orbiting satellite sees a different bit
of the earth each time.
• It completes one trip around the North-South poles of the
Earth in about 100 minutes. It makes about 14 revolutions
in one day.
• It provides more reliable information than geostationary
satellites because their orbits are closer to Earth.
• Such satellites are used to study the universe, help forecast
the weather, transfer telephone calls over the oceans, assist
in the navigation of ships and aircraft, monitor crops and
other resources, and support military activities.
 ESSENTIAL CONDITIONS FOR
GEOSTATIONARY AND POLAR
SATELLITES

For a satellite to be geostationary:

o It should revolve in an orbit concentric and coplanar
with its equatorial plane of the Earth.
o Its angular velocity must be same as that of earth
o Its direction must be west to east.
o It must be about 36,000 km above the Earth.
o Its orbit must be circular, and not elliptical.
o The angle of inclination of the orbit must be zero.

For a satellite to be polar:

o It should revolve around the earth in a north-south
direction.
o The angle of inclination of the orbit must be 90degrees.
o Must be in close proximity to Earth.
o At an altitude less than 1000km but could be as low as
200km above the Earth.
o It must not follow a particular path around the Earth in
the same way- their planes can be tilted.
o It must travel at very high speeds (nearly 8,000 m/s).
 MOTIONS OF A SATELLITLE
Newton’s universal law of gravitation and Kepler’s laws
describe the motions of Earth satellites and interplanetary
spacecraft as well as the planets.
ORBITAL VELOCITY
It is the velocity required to put the satellite into its orbit
around the earth. This velocity can be calculated by the
formula:
Where,
G = gravitational constant,
M = mass of the body at centre,
R = radius of the orbit.
ESCAPE VELOCITY
It is the minimum velocity with which a body must be
projected so that it may just escape the gravitational pull of
the earth. The escape velocity from earth’s orbit is 11.2km/s.
It can be calculated by the formula:
V escape = √ 2GM / R

The relationship between orbital velocity and escape velocity

is Ve = 2Vo
 ORBITAL VELOCITY OF A SATELLITE
To illustrate how a satellite is launched, imagine a gun firing
a bullet horizontally from the top of a high mountain, as
shown below, which has been adapted from a similar diagram
by Newton. Imagine, further, that the friction of the air could
be removed and that the only force that acts on the bullet after
it leaves the muzzle is the gravitational force between the
bullet and Earth.

Figure 1. (a) For paths a and b, the velocity is not enough to prevent gravity from pulling the bullet back
to Earth; in case c, the velocity allows the bullet to fall completely around Earth. (b) This diagram by
Newton illustrates the same concept shown in (a).

If the bullet is fired with a velocity, Va, the gravitational force

acting upon it pulls it downward toward Earth, where it
strikes the ground at point a. However, if it is given a higher
muzzle velocity, Vb, its higher speed carries it farther before
it hits the ground at point b.
If the bullet is given a high enough muzzle velocity, Vc, the
curved surface of Earth causes the ground to remain the same
distance from the bullet so that the bullet falls around Earth
in a complete circle. The speed needed to do this—called the
circular satellite velocity—is about 8km/s.
 LAUNCHING A SATELLITE
A launch vehicle or carrier rockets is a rocket designed to
carry spacecrafts and satellites from the Earth’s surface to
outer space. In order to reach Earth’s orbit, it must accelerate
its payload to a minimum velocity of 28,000km/h. A launch
from Earth’s surface or atmosphere usually attains orbital
velocity within 8–12 minutes.
Practical orbital launch vehicles are multistage rockets which
use chemical propellants such as solid fuel, liquid hydrogen,
kerosene, liquid oxygen, or Hypergolic propellants.
Launch vehicles are classified by their orbital payload
capacity, ranging from small-, medium-, heavy- to super-
heavy lift.
Expendable launch vehicles are designed for one-time use,
with boosters that usually separate from their payload and
disintegrate during atmospheric re-entry or on contact with
the ground. In contrast, reusable launch vehicle boosters are
designed to be recovered intact and launched again. The
Falcon 9 is an example reusable launch vehicle.

India has two operational launchers:

▪ Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV)
▪ Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV)
 Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV)

▪ It is a third generation launch vehicle and is termed as the

‘Workhorse of Indian Space Research Organization
(ISRO) ‘.
▪ The first successful launch of PSLV was in October 1994.
▪ It can carry the payload of 1750 kg to sun-synchronous
polar orbits (SSPO) (Altitude – 600 Kms) and the payload
of 1425 kg to Geosynchronous and Geostationary Orbits
(GTO).
▪ It has launched Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) Satellites.
 Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle
(GSLV)
▪ It is a fourth generation launch vehicle.
▪ The first flight by GSLV was on 18th April 2001.
▪ The capacity of payloads:
▪ It can carry 2500 kgs INSAT class of communication
satellites and place it to geostationary transfer orbit (GTO)
and carry 5000 kgs heavy satellites to multiple smaller
satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO).
▪ GSLV-Mk II is the largest launch vehicle developed by
India.
 SUMMARY

In summary, satellites are projectiles that orbit around a central

massive body instead of falling into it. They are acted upon by
the gravitational force – a universal force of attraction between
any two masses. The motion of satellites is governed by
Newton’s Laws of Motion. For this reason, the mathematics of
these satellites emerges from an application of Newton’s
Universal Law of Gravitation to the mathematics of circular
motion. The orbital velocity is independent of the mass of the
satellite and depends on the mass of the central body (Earth)
and the radius of the orbit. When air resistance is negligible and
only gravity is present, the mass of the moving satellite
becomes a non-factor.
 CONCLUSION

Satellites are objects that orbit celestial bodies and can be

natural or man-made. Artificial satellites are further classified
into geostationary and polar satellites based on the position of
its orbits. Geostationary satellites orbit the Equatorial plane
while polar satellites orbit in the North-South polar orbit. The
idea of an artificial satellite in orbital flight was first suggested
by Sir Isaac Newton. A satellite must be projected at a
minimum velocity in order to be put into the Earth’s orbit. For
a satellite close to the Earth’s surface, this orbital velocity is
8km/s. satellites are launched into space using carrier rockets
like PSLV and GSLV.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Reference taken from NCERT books.

Websites:
• www.wikepedia.com
• www.britannica.com
• www.isro.gov.in
• www.nasa.gov
• www.encyclopedia.com
• www.google.com