Question

NASA has asked your team of rocket scientists about the feasibility of a new satellite launcher that will save rocket fuel. NASA's idea is basically an electric slingshot that consists of 4 electrodes arranged in a horizontal square with sides of length d at a height h above the ground. The satellite is then placed on the ground aligned with the center of the square. A power supply will provide each of the four electrodes with a charge of +Q/4 and the satellite with a charge -Q. When the satellite is released from rest, it moves up and passes through the center of the square. At the instant it reaches the square's center, the power supply is turned off and the electrodes are grounded, giving them a zero electric charge. To test this idea, you decide to use energy considerations to calculate how big Q will have to be to get a 100 kg satellite to a sufficient orbit height. Assume that the satellite starts from 15 meters below the square of electrodes and that the sides of the square are each 5 meters. In your physics text you find the mass of the Earth to be 6.0 x 1024 kg and its average radius is 6370 km

Answer 1