Stationary satellite in high latitude

[pixel01]

Hi all,

Is that possible that a stationary satellite be fixed to a location far from equator?

 

[mgb_phys]

No ...

 

[scibuff]

... stationary with respect to what? If you mean with respect to Earth ... the only option would be one of the Lagrangian Points (L4 or L5) in the Sun-Earth system. There are also L4 and L5 points in the Earth-Moon system but they are not very stable due to gravitational influence of the sun.

... in a theory, considering only Earth and your satellite, you would basically have to place it at a point where the Earth would exert NO gravitational pull (the satellite would have zero potential energy). Since F = G m1m2 / d^2 there is no point (apart from the center of the Earth) where F = 0, hence your satellite would impact the Earth eventually, no matter how far it was originally placed.

 

[mgb_phys]

I think the poster means fixed over a point on Earth - as in geostationary.
This is only possible over the equator

I thought the poster might come back for a fuller explanation than just "no..." !

 

[Borek]

If it is not very far from the equator necessary corrections are so small, that it can be doable. As far as I remember - before the advent of digital communication - additional satelites on almost geostationary orbits were considered a viable solution to the lack of the bandwidth problem. Amount of fuel necessary for constant orbit corrections was small enough that satellite could operate for years.

 

[pixel01]

... stationary with respect to what? If you mean with respect to Earth ... the only option would be one of the Lagrangian Points (L4 or L5) in the Sun-Earth system. There are also L4 and L5 points in the Earth-Moon system but they are not very stable due to gravitational influence of the sun.

... in a theory, considering only Earth and your satellite, you would basically have to place it at a point where the Earth would exert NO gravitational pull (the satellite would have zero potential energy). Since F = G m1m2 / d^2 there is no point (apart from the center of the Earth) where F = 0, hence your satellite would impact the Earth eventually, no matter how far it was originally placed.

Sorry for the misunderstanding. I just meant geostationary satellites, not something orbiting the sun.