A spacecraft is in orbit around a planet. The radius of the orbit is 3.2 times the radius of the planet (which is R = 71545 km). The gravitational field at the surface of the planet is 23 N/kg. What is the period of the spacecraft's orbit? [Hint: You don't need any more data about the planet to solve the problem.]

Question

anonymous · Answer

Use the given gravitational field to find the mass of the planet, then find the gravitational force on the spacecraft, then using circular motion find the velocity of the spacecraft, and then use the velocity and the length of the orbit to find the period.