Is GOCE a satellite or aircraft?
$begingroup$
This vessel (GOCE) is in orbit and maneuvers by using air similar to a plane to create lift and turn. The solar powered ion thrusters powers it continuously inside the atmosphere for years. Is this technically a plane, satellite, or a missile?
Source: https://space.stackexchange.com/a/33202/18879
terminology
edited 10 mins ago
ymb1
71.6k7231385
asked 2 hours ago
MuzeMuze
400313
New contributor
Muze is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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add a comment |
$begingroup$
This vessel (GOCE) is in orbit and maneuvers by using air similar to a plane to create lift and turn. The solar powered ion thrusters powers it continuously inside the atmosphere for years. Is this technically a plane, satellite, or a missile?
Source: https://space.stackexchange.com/a/33202/18879
terminology
edited 10 mins ago
ymb1
71.6k7231385
asked 2 hours ago
MuzeMuze
400313
New contributor
Muze is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
$endgroup$
$begingroup$
I took the liberty of editing out the off-topic side question (not only because it's off-topic but also because you should only have one question per post). Feel free to roll back if you disagree.
$endgroup$
– Sanchises
1 hour ago
1
$begingroup$
By definition it's a spacecraft instead of an aircraft, because it relies on orbital velocity to stay up, not air in any form. It's a low drag satellite.
$endgroup$
– user3528438
55 mins ago
add a comment |
$begingroup$
This vessel (GOCE) is in orbit and maneuvers by using air similar to a plane to create lift and turn. The solar powered ion thrusters powers it continuously inside the atmosphere for years. Is this technically a plane, satellite, or a missile?
Source: https://space.stackexchange.com/a/33202/18879
terminology
edited 10 mins ago
ymb1
71.6k7231385
asked 2 hours ago
MuzeMuze
400313
New contributor
Muze is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
$endgroup$
This vessel (GOCE) is in orbit and maneuvers by using air similar to a plane to create lift and turn. The solar powered ion thrusters powers it continuously inside the atmosphere for years. Is this technically a plane, satellite, or a missile?
Source: https://space.stackexchange.com/a/33202/18879
terminology
terminology
edited 10 mins ago
ymb1
71.6k7231385
asked 2 hours ago
MuzeMuze
400313
New contributor
Muze is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
edited 10 mins ago
ymb1
71.6k7231385
asked 2 hours ago
MuzeMuze
400313
New contributor
Muze is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
edited 10 mins ago
ymb1
71.6k7231385
edited 10 mins ago
ymb1
71.6k7231385
edited 10 mins ago
ymb1
71.6k7231385
71.6k7231385
asked 2 hours ago
MuzeMuze
400313
New contributor
Muze is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked 2 hours ago
MuzeMuze
400313
asked 2 hours ago
MuzeMuze
400313
400313
New contributor
Muze is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
New contributor
Muze is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
Muze is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
$begingroup$
I took the liberty of editing out the off-topic side question (not only because it's off-topic but also because you should only have one question per post). Feel free to roll back if you disagree.
$endgroup$
– Sanchises
1 hour ago
1
$begingroup$
By definition it's a spacecraft instead of an aircraft, because it relies on orbital velocity to stay up, not air in any form. It's a low drag satellite.
$endgroup$
– user3528438
55 mins ago
add a comment |
$begingroup$
I took the liberty of editing out the off-topic side question (not only because it's off-topic but also because you should only have one question per post). Feel free to roll back if you disagree.
$endgroup$
– Sanchises
1 hour ago
1
$begingroup$
By definition it's a spacecraft instead of an aircraft, because it relies on orbital velocity to stay up, not air in any form. It's a low drag satellite.
$endgroup$
– user3528438
55 mins ago
$begingroup$
I took the liberty of editing out the off-topic side question (not only because it's off-topic but also because you should only have one question per post). Feel free to roll back if you disagree.
$endgroup$
– Sanchises
1 hour ago
$begingroup$
I took the liberty of editing out the off-topic side question (not only because it's off-topic but also because you should only have one question per post). Feel free to roll back if you disagree.
$endgroup$
– Sanchises
1 hour ago
1
1
$begingroup$
By definition it's a spacecraft instead of an aircraft, because it relies on orbital velocity to stay up, not air in any form. It's a low drag satellite.
$endgroup$
– user3528438
55 mins ago
$begingroup$
By definition it's a spacecraft instead of an aircraft, because it relies on orbital velocity to stay up, not air in any form. It's a low drag satellite.
$endgroup$
– user3528438
55 mins ago
add a comment |
1 Answer
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$begingroup$
A satellite is an object in orbit. A satellite keeps a constant altitude if it is traveling at the correct orbital speed for their altitude. Otherwise it will be in an elliptical orbit where the altitude is constantly changing. In any case, satellites are (almost) in free-fall
An airplane travels at much, much lower speed than orbital speed. Airplanes keep their altitude because their wings produce lift.
Satellites in lower orbited are subject to atmospheric drag, albeit to much smaller extentd than planes. GOCE was orbiting Earth at an - for satellites - very low altitude (224 km). There is hardly any atmosphere at this altitude, but at an orbital velocity of 7.8 m/s (51337 kts), atmospheric drag is still a problem.
Therefore the structure of GOCE was particularly designed for low drag. The wings were flat without camber. They did not produce any lift. GOCE used ion thrusters to compensate the atmospheric drag and maintain orbital velocity.
Photo: ESA
Photo: ESA
Missiles are self-propelled guided weapons. I can assure you that GOCE was not a weapon.
[TL;DR]: GOCE was a satellite, because it orbited an astronomical body. It was not a plane, because its wings did not produce lift.
GOCE´s 20 month mission ended on November 11, 2013 with the planned destructive re-enty into the atmosphere. It measured Earth´s gravity field and acquired a precise model of the Earth geoid:
Image: ESA
answered 1 hour ago
boglbogl
4,5892239
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add a comment |
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1 Answer
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$begingroup$
A satellite is an object in orbit. A satellite keeps a constant altitude if it is traveling at the correct orbital speed for their altitude. Otherwise it will be in an elliptical orbit where the altitude is constantly changing. In any case, satellites are (almost) in free-fall
An airplane travels at much, much lower speed than orbital speed. Airplanes keep their altitude because their wings produce lift.
Satellites in lower orbited are subject to atmospheric drag, albeit to much smaller extentd than planes. GOCE was orbiting Earth at an - for satellites - very low altitude (224 km). There is hardly any atmosphere at this altitude, but at an orbital velocity of 7.8 m/s (51337 kts), atmospheric drag is still a problem.
Therefore the structure of GOCE was particularly designed for low drag. The wings were flat without camber. They did not produce any lift. GOCE used ion thrusters to compensate the atmospheric drag and maintain orbital velocity.
Photo: ESA
Photo: ESA
Missiles are self-propelled guided weapons. I can assure you that GOCE was not a weapon.
[TL;DR]: GOCE was a satellite, because it orbited an astronomical body. It was not a plane, because its wings did not produce lift.
GOCE´s 20 month mission ended on November 11, 2013 with the planned destructive re-enty into the atmosphere. It measured Earth´s gravity field and acquired a precise model of the Earth geoid:
Image: ESA
answered 1 hour ago
boglbogl
4,5892239
$endgroup$
add a comment |
$begingroup$
A satellite is an object in orbit. A satellite keeps a constant altitude if it is traveling at the correct orbital speed for their altitude. Otherwise it will be in an elliptical orbit where the altitude is constantly changing. In any case, satellites are (almost) in free-fall
An airplane travels at much, much lower speed than orbital speed. Airplanes keep their altitude because their wings produce lift.
Satellites in lower orbited are subject to atmospheric drag, albeit to much smaller extentd than planes. GOCE was orbiting Earth at an - for satellites - very low altitude (224 km). There is hardly any atmosphere at this altitude, but at an orbital velocity of 7.8 m/s (51337 kts), atmospheric drag is still a problem.
Therefore the structure of GOCE was particularly designed for low drag. The wings were flat without camber. They did not produce any lift. GOCE used ion thrusters to compensate the atmospheric drag and maintain orbital velocity.
Photo: ESA
Photo: ESA
Missiles are self-propelled guided weapons. I can assure you that GOCE was not a weapon.
[TL;DR]: GOCE was a satellite, because it orbited an astronomical body. It was not a plane, because its wings did not produce lift.
GOCE´s 20 month mission ended on November 11, 2013 with the planned destructive re-enty into the atmosphere. It measured Earth´s gravity field and acquired a precise model of the Earth geoid:
Image: ESA
answered 1 hour ago
boglbogl
4,5892239
$endgroup$
add a comment |
$begingroup$
A satellite is an object in orbit. A satellite keeps a constant altitude if it is traveling at the correct orbital speed for their altitude. Otherwise it will be in an elliptical orbit where the altitude is constantly changing. In any case, satellites are (almost) in free-fall
An airplane travels at much, much lower speed than orbital speed. Airplanes keep their altitude because their wings produce lift.
Satellites in lower orbited are subject to atmospheric drag, albeit to much smaller extentd than planes. GOCE was orbiting Earth at an - for satellites - very low altitude (224 km). There is hardly any atmosphere at this altitude, but at an orbital velocity of 7.8 m/s (51337 kts), atmospheric drag is still a problem.
Therefore the structure of GOCE was particularly designed for low drag. The wings were flat without camber. They did not produce any lift. GOCE used ion thrusters to compensate the atmospheric drag and maintain orbital velocity.
Photo: ESA
Photo: ESA
Missiles are self-propelled guided weapons. I can assure you that GOCE was not a weapon.
[TL;DR]: GOCE was a satellite, because it orbited an astronomical body. It was not a plane, because its wings did not produce lift.
GOCE´s 20 month mission ended on November 11, 2013 with the planned destructive re-enty into the atmosphere. It measured Earth´s gravity field and acquired a precise model of the Earth geoid:
Image: ESA
answered 1 hour ago
boglbogl
4,5892239
$endgroup$
A satellite is an object in orbit. A satellite keeps a constant altitude if it is traveling at the correct orbital speed for their altitude. Otherwise it will be in an elliptical orbit where the altitude is constantly changing. In any case, satellites are (almost) in free-fall
An airplane travels at much, much lower speed than orbital speed. Airplanes keep their altitude because their wings produce lift.
Satellites in lower orbited are subject to atmospheric drag, albeit to much smaller extentd than planes. GOCE was orbiting Earth at an - for satellites - very low altitude (224 km). There is hardly any atmosphere at this altitude, but at an orbital velocity of 7.8 m/s (51337 kts), atmospheric drag is still a problem.
Therefore the structure of GOCE was particularly designed for low drag. The wings were flat without camber. They did not produce any lift. GOCE used ion thrusters to compensate the atmospheric drag and maintain orbital velocity.
Photo: ESA
Photo: ESA
Missiles are self-propelled guided weapons. I can assure you that GOCE was not a weapon.
[TL;DR]: GOCE was a satellite, because it orbited an astronomical body. It was not a plane, because its wings did not produce lift.
GOCE´s 20 month mission ended on November 11, 2013 with the planned destructive re-enty into the atmosphere. It measured Earth´s gravity field and acquired a precise model of the Earth geoid:
Image: ESA
answered 1 hour ago
boglbogl
4,5892239
edited 52 mins ago
answered 1 hour ago
boglbogl
4,5892239
answered 1 hour ago
boglbogl
4,5892239
answered 1 hour ago
boglbogl
4,5892239
4,5892239
add a comment |
add a comment |
Muze is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Muze is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Muze is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Muze is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
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$begingroup$
I took the liberty of editing out the off-topic side question (not only because it's off-topic but also because you should only have one question per post). Feel free to roll back if you disagree.
$endgroup$
– Sanchises
1 hour ago
1
$begingroup$
By definition it's a spacecraft instead of an aircraft, because it relies on orbital velocity to stay up, not air in any form. It's a low drag satellite.
$endgroup$
– user3528438
55 mins ago