With what force must he be flung into orbit? .
first, second, third, critical values of a spacecraft's velocity at the moment it enters orbit (i.e., at the moment the launch vehicle's engines stop operating) in a gravitational field. Each C. v. is calculated according to specific formulas and can be physically interpreted as the minimum initial velocity at which a spacecraft launched from Earth can either become an artificial satellite (first C. v.), leave the sphere of Earth's gravity (second C. v.), or leave the Solar System by overcoming the Sun's attraction (third C. v.). Two variants of mathematical definitions for C. v. are found in literature. In one variant, C. v. can be calculated for any height above the Earth's surface or any distance from the center of the Earth.
The first C. v. υI at a distance r from the center of the Earth is determined by the formula where f is the gravitational constant and M is the mass of the Earth. It is accepted (see Fundamental Astronomical Constants) that fM = 398603 km3/sec2. In celestial mechanics, this velocity is also called circular velocity, because in a two-body problem, the motion of a body with mass m around another body possessing an incomparably larger mass M (where M >> m) in a circle of radius r occurs precisely at such a velocity.
If at the moment of entering orbit the spacecraft has a velocity υ0 = υI perpendicular to the direction of the center of the Earth, then its orbit (in the absence of perturbations) will be circular. If υ0 < υI, the orbit is elliptical, and the point of entry into orbit is located at the apogee. If this point is at an altitude of about 160 km, then immediately after entering orbit, the satellite enters the denser layers of the atmosphere lying below and burns up. Thus, for the specified altitude, the first C. v. is the minimum required for a spacecraft to become a satellite of Earth. At greater altitudes, a spacecraft can become a satellite even with υ0 slightly less than the υI calculated for that altitude. For example, at an altitude of 300 km, it is sufficient for a spacecraft to have a velocity 45 m/sec lower than υI.
The second C. v. υII at a distance r from the center of the Earth is determined by the formula υ0 = υII; a body with mass m in a two-body problem will move relative to a body with mass M (where M >>m) along a parabolic orbit and recede arbitrarily far, becoming free, in a sense, from gravitational effects. Velocities lower than parabolic are called elliptical, and higher ones hyperbolic, because at such initial velocities, motion in a two-body problem with masses m and M (where M >> m) occurs along elliptical or hyperbolic orbits, respectively.
Values of the first and second C. v. for various altitudes h, measured from sea level at the equator (h = r — 6378 km), are given in Table 1.
Table 1. — First (υI) and second (υII) cosmic velocities for different altitudes (h) above sea level
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| h, km | υI km/sec | υII km/sec |
|----------------------------------------------------------|
| 0 | 7,90 | 11,18 |
|----------------------------------------------------------|
| 100 | 7,84 | 11,09 |
|----------------------------------------------------------|
| 200 | 7,78 | 11,01 |
|----------------------------------------------------------|
| 300 | 7,73 | 10,93 |
|----------------------------------------------------------|
| 500 | 7,62 | 10,77 |
|----------------------------------------------------------|
| 1000 | 7,35 | 10,40 |
|----------------------------------------------------------|
| 5000 | 5,92 | 8,37 |
|----------------------------------------------------------|
| 10000 | 4,94 | 9,98 |
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The concepts of C. v. are also applied when analyzing the motion of spacecraft in the gravitational fields of any planets or their natural satellites, as well as the Sun. In this way, C. v. can be determined for Venus, the Moon, the Sun, etc. These velocities are calculated using the formulas provided above, where M is taken as the mass of the corresponding celestial body. Values of fM for some celestial bodies are given in Table 2.
Table 2. — Values of the gravitational constant for the Moon, Sun and planets
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| Celestial body | fM, km3/sec2 |
|---------------------------------------------------------|
| Moon | 4,903․103 |
|---------------------------------------------------------|
| Sun | 1,327․1011 |
|---------------------------------------------------------|
| Mercury | 2,169․104 |
|---------------------------------------------------------|
| Venus | 3,249․105 |
|---------------------------------------------------------|
| Earth | 3,986․105 |
|---------------------------------------------------------|
| Mars | 4,298․104 |
|---------------------------------------------------------|
| Jupiter | 1,267․108 |
|---------------------------------------------------------|
| Saturn | 3,792․107 |
|---------------------------------------------------------|
| Uranus | 5,803․106 |
|---------------------------------------------------------|
| Neptune | 7,026․106 |
|---------------------------------------------------------|
| Pluto | 3,318․105 |
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The third C. v. υIII is determined by the condition that a spacecraft, having reached the boundary of Earth's sphere of gravitational influence (See Sphere of Gravitational Influence) (i.e., a distance of about 930000 km from Earth), has a parabolic velocity relative to the Sun (near Earth's orbit this velocity is 42,10 km/sec). Relative to Earth at this moment, the spacecraft's velocity cannot be less than 12,33 km/sec; for this, according to formulas of celestial mechanics, when launched near the surface of the Earth (at an altitude of 200 km), the spacecraft's velocity must be about 16,6 km/sec.
In another variant of mathematical definition, the first, second and third C. v. are calculated by the same formulas, but only for the surface of a spherical uniform model of Earth (with a radius of 6371 km). In this sense, the first C. v. is circular velocity, and the second C. v. is parabolic velocity, calculated for the surface of the Earth. Under these conditions, C. v. have unique values: the first C. v. equals 7,910 km/sec, the second — 11,186 km/sec, the third — 16,67 km/sec. In a hypothetical launch of a spacecraft from the surface of such an Earth model, assumed to be absolutely smooth and devoid of atmosphere, C. v. exactly correspond to the physical interpretation indicated at the beginning of the article.
Similarly, C. v. can also be calculated for the surfaces of other celestial bodies. For example, for the Moon, the first C. v. is 1,680 km/sec, and the second — 2,375 km/sec. The second C. v. for Venus and Mars equals 10,4 km/sec and 5,0 km/sec, respectively.
Something like that. But with elephants it was probably all simpler; it was enough to choose an elephant with the strongest trunk, perfectly master the hammer throw technique, and most importantly, find a fulcrum.:)