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

There is no “right spot”. A satellite is moving sideways fast enough to miss Earth as it falls and slow enough not to fly away.

The maximum possible speed is about double the minimum, so it’s really really easy to fall within this window.