Estimating satellite altitude from speed

Estimating satellite altitude from speed

If you see a light moving in the sky, how could you tell whether it’s an airplane or a satellite? If it is a satellite, could you tell how high of an orbit it’s in? For an object in a circular orbit, v² = μ/r where r is the orbit radius and μ is the standard gravitational parameter. For a satellite orbiting the earth, μ = 5.1658 × 1012  km³/hr². The orbit radius r is the earth’s radius R plus the altitude a above the earth’s surface. r = R + a w…