Kinetic Energy of a Satellite

The kinetic energy of a satellite is defined as the energy used up while changing its position. Any moving object which changes its position from one place to another has kinetic energy in them. We can understand the functioning of the kinetic energy for any object having mass and velocity with the help of the laws of gravitation. Newton’s laws of gravitation state and define the principles on which the satellite works and its fundamentals. When a satellite is moving in the Earth’s orbit with its velocity, there are changes that take place in the different forms of energy, but the overall mechanical energy remains constant.

What is kinetic energy?

The definition of kinetic energy can be stated as the form of energy present in an object when it changes its position from one point to another. In other words, the kinetic energy of a particle can be defined as the energy constituted by an object or any particle while they perform motion in their body with the velocity concerning time. For example, any particular object which is in motion can be considered to have kinetic energy, be it wind, flowing water or a vehicle moving on the road.

We can calculate the kinetic energy of an object by the given formula: 

The kinetic energy of an object = ½ mv², where m stands for the mass of the object and v stands for the magnitude of the velocity of the object.

We can also understand it as the shift of energy. When an object is at a stationary position, potential energy is stored, but once an external force is applied to the object, a change in its position takes place, and the energy which is used by the object to move is converted from potential energy into kinetic energy.

How to calculate the kinetic energy of a satellite

The quantity of energy also depends upon the kind of object. It means that different types of objects perform activities different from each other hence the method of the flow of energy is different too. For example, what kinetic energy is for a moving boat may not be as same as a moving truck on the road. The reason is very simple both the objects are very different from each other in the aspect of mass, velocity and the kind of movement they show.

The same goes for the satellite too. Energy is dependent on many factors, from the way it is designed to function to its mass, velocity and the place where it is kept.

It can be difficult to find out the flow of energy of a satellite that is thousands of metres away and weighs more than a tonne.

In this instance, one such method put forward is the work-energy relationship. In the case of a satellite revolving on the Earth’s surface, it can be defined as the work done by the force exerted on any object or particle which acts over any object equals to the change in the kinetic energy of the particle.

While we have to calculate the kinetic energy of the satellite, certain important things such as the mass of the satellite and the Earth, the distance between them, the velocity by which the satellite is moving should be very clear.

Take, for instance, the centripetal force of a satellite is mv² /r.

The kinetic energy can be calculated by = GMm /r²

But, since mv² = GMm/r

Therefore, the kinetic energy of the satellite can be calculated by

= +1/2 GMm/r

Conclusion

The kinetic force of a satellite, when calculated, turns out to be half of the gravitational energy. We observed in the above steps that the magnitude of the kinetic energy of the satellite can be calculated using the formula K.E. = ½ mv²

= ½  (GMm/r)

where m is the mass of the satellite, G is the universal gravitational constant, and M is the mass of the Earth.