Sputnik's period around the earth

[rainbowtits]

Homework Statement

Sputnik I, the first artificial satellite to circle the planet (October 1957) had a mean orbital radius of 6953 km. Compute its period

Homework Equations

How do I compute the period?

The Attempt at a Solution

I thought that the radii of the sputnik could be compared to that of the moon, and same tih the period.

 

[Delphi51]

All satellite/orbit solutions begin with
Centripetal Force = Force of gravity
Then put in the two force formulas. If you are interested in the period use the centripetal force formula that has period instead of velocity - something like F = 4(pi)mr^2/T (I probably have not remembered that exactly right!)

As usual, solve for the quantity you want to find.