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KayleighK
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Homework Statement
Consider a spacecraft in an elliptical orbit around the earth. At the low point, or perigee, of its orbit, it is 400 km above the Earth's surface; at the high point, or apogee, it is 4000 km above the Earth's surface.
1. What is the period of the spacecraft 's orbit?
Homework Equations
Kepler's 3rd Law: T=(2*pi*a3/2)/ sqrt(GME)
where a=semi-major axis
The Attempt at a Solution
So the first thing I did was find the semi-major axis (value a of the eqn above):
(1/2)*(4000+400)=2200 km or 2.2*106 m
Then I plugged it into the equation along with the following constants:
G=6.67*10-11 m2/kg2,
ME=5.97*1024kg
T=(2*pi*2.2*10(6)3/2)/ sqrt(6.67*10-11*5.97*1024)= 1027 seconds
I checked the back of the book and the answer is wrong. I have no clue what I am doing wrong...:( Any help would be greatly appreciated.