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22steve
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Homework Statement
A space vehicle is traveling at 5300 km/h relative to the Earth when the exhausted rocket motor is disengaged and sent backward with a speed of 97 km/h relative to the command module. The mass of the motor is four times the mass of the module. What is the speed of the command module relative to Earth just after the separation?
Homework Equations
p=mv
The Attempt at a Solution
I found the initial linear momentum of the space vehicle (5)(5300) = 26500
Then found the relative speed of the command modular by setting the momentum of the exhausted rocket and the module equal. (26.9 m/s)(4m) = (v)(1m) solving v=107.6 m/s or 387.6 km/h. I don't understand how to express the velocity relative to the Earth though.