Exact geosynchronous orbit altitude
Calling all geeks! I've always "known" that a geosynchronous orbit was at 22,300 miles. It's just always been a "fact." I also assumed that this was an approximate number, and today I went looknig for the exact number. Here is what I found: Quote: Looking at those figures, I realized that I needed to round off the actual planned final orbital altitude to the nearest hundred. That was as close as most people, and in particular the news media, would ever remember. So I selected 22,300 miles as the figure for the planned altitude, and used that. http://www.challzine.net/20/20green.html[...] But the perfect altitude for a Clark orbit, it turns out, is 22,238 statute miles above mean sea level. [...] That meant I should have rounded off geosynchronous altitude as 22,200 miles, the closest hundred. Using 22,300 miles was a mistake. By the time I recognized my error, everyone was using the 22,300 mile figure, even engineers and others who were experts in orbital mechanics. [...] It's wrong. And it's all my fault. |
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| Typical, an engineer can do the minute work but screw up the easy stuff. |
Quote: Typical, an engineer can do the minute work but screw up the easy stuff.
how true! I see the explanation he gives, but I still wonder why he felt the need to round it off at all. There are so many other numbers that we know to the nearest whole number. Why do we need to round that one off to the hundreds? weird. |
I do not knowif I can forgive you for leading so many people astray.  |
| It was a number for a press release, is what I gather. Nobody is going to be printing 22,238 for the general public, 22,200 is close enough. I just think it's funny that it is the "accepted/acceptable answer" when a person asks how high the orbit is, they are given the 22,300 number, which really has no basis.
What's next, the earth isn't really 93,000,000 miles from the sun? The moon isn't 250,000 miles away? It's not 1,100 licks to the center of a Tootsie Pop?  |
| What, finding out Pluto isn't a planet didn't shake you up? |
| Everybody knows it's only thr-ee licks to the center of a Tootsie Pop! |
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