The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) travels in a circular orbit above the Earth’s atmosphere, allowing astronomers to conduct aberration-free measurement. The HST has a mass of 11,110 kg. (a) The HST completes one circular orbit around Earth in 5725 s. How high is its orbit above the surface of the Earth? (b) The HST is estimated to have a lifetime of about 15 more years before crashing into the earth due to atmospheric drag. Estimate how much work the atmosphere does per circular orbit on the HST.Assume the work done and the period are the same for each revolution (realistically both of these quantities would change as the orbital radius decreased).

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The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) travels in a circular orbit above the Earth’s atmosphere, allowing astronomers to conduct aberration-free measurement. The HST has a mass of 11,110 kg.

(a) The HST completes one circular orbit around Earth in 5725 s. How high is its orbit above the surface of the Earth?

(b) The HST is estimated to have a lifetime of about 15 more years before crashing into the earth due to atmospheric drag. Estimate how much work the atmosphere does per circular orbit on the HST.Assume the work done and the period are the same for each revolution (realistically both of these quantities would change as the orbital radius decreased). 

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