To obtain the “altitude”, \(h\), namely the distance from the surface of the Earth to the satellite, we must subtract the radius of the Earth, \(R_{⊕} = 6.371 × 10^{6}\text{ m}\) from this distance: T...To obtain the “altitude”, \(h\), namely the distance from the surface of the Earth to the satellite, we must subtract the radius of the Earth, \(R_{⊕} = 6.371 × 10^{6}\text{ m}\) from this distance: The initial mechanical energy of the satellite, \(E_{A}\), is given by its gravitational potential energy (it has no kinetic energy at the surface of the Earth when at the North Pole - on the equator, it would have kinetic energy due to the Earth’s rotation):
