eli5 how are satellites placed in just the right spot so they dont fall to earth or drift into space?

Question

eli5 how are satellites placed in just the right spot so they dont fall to earth or drift into space?

In: Planetary Science

Answer 1

So for the most part they’re actually not “just in the right spot” as you put it. A lot of orbits have to be maintained and corrected with smaller rockets on the satellite other wise they will fall to the earth.

But the answer is a lot of math and computer simulations. Orbits are highly predictable and the math that describes them is pretty well understood. Given what we know of the solar system, we can figure out what positions and velocities are required to maintain the orbit. Then when we launch the satellite, we can do Ben more math to figure out rocket burns that move the satellite into the right position and velocity.