Assessing the Physics in Edmond Hamilton's "The Second Satellite" - Comments

[klotza]

klotza submitted a new PF Insights post

Assessing the Physics in Edmond Hamilton's "The Second Satellite"

Continue reading the Original PF Insights Post.

 

[Janus]

If we assume a retrograde orbit, and taking into account that the Earth is rotating under the orbit, I can get a trajectory that passes over Sweden and just skims Australia with a 6 hour orbital period. However that same orbit does not pass over California or Long island.
With a 6 hr orbit, it will return to being over any given point of the surface every four orbits. So we can look to see if it might pass over these two points in one of the other three orbits. Alas, such is not the case. the only orbit that crosses over the US goes from the SE coast to crossing the Canada border somewhere around Montana and N. Dakota.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

For those interested, here is the audiobook