Learning Resources

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Outcomes

In this lesson you will

• describe geostationary, polar and inclined satellite orbits
• describe the types of communications satellites in orbit
• Identify ways communications satellites are used in transportation

Prerequisites

To be successful in this lesson, it would be helpful to know the following:

• Newton's Laws of Motion (more information here)
  • Every body will remain at rest, or in a uniform state of motion unless acted upon by a force.
  • When a force acts upon a body, it imparts an acceleration proportional to the force and inversely proportional to the mass of the body and in the direction of the force.
  • Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.
• Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion (which apply equally to satellites) (the links are to animations demonstrating the law) 
  • Law I: Each planet revolves around the Sun in an elliptical path, with the Sun occupying one of the foci of the ellipse.
  • Law II: The straight line joining the Sun and a planet sweeps out equal areas in equal intervals of time.
  • Law III: The squares of the planets' orbital periods are proportional to the cubes of the semi-major axes of their orbits.