Gravity & Satellites: Moon's Influence on Earth Satellites

[thomasxc]

does the moon's gravitational field have any considerable affect on satellites orbiting earth??

 

[Kit]

distance between moon and Earth (center to center) = 384,403km
mass of moon = 7.3477 × 10e22 kg
mass of Earth = 5.9736 × 10e24 kg
geostationary orbit = 35,888.71 km

u can calculate the gravitational field strengths (by Earth or moon) at the geostationary orbit and compares the values.

 

[thomasxc]

you know, you have to add Earth's radius to the geostationary orbit, i think. i got 66574088 Newtons for the force between the moon and satellite-assuming that the satellite weighs 10,000 kilos. and i got 1.68e26 for the force between Earth and the satellite. but i think my math may be slightly off. but if its right, the moons force is only a very slight percentage of the earth's. even so, id think that if the moon can influence the tides, then it can influence a satellite which is a lot closer to it...