Do satellites orbit decay?

Satellite orbits decay because their mass is relatively small and so little force is required to change their velocity and bring about orbital decay. The Earth has very large mass and is unlikely to encounter sufficient force to slow its motion.

Do all orbits decay?

Every orbit — even gravitational orbits in General Relativity — will very, very slowly decay over time. It might take an exceptionally long time, some 10^150 years, but eventually, the Earth (and all the planets, after enough time) will have their orbits decay, and will spiral into the central mass of our Solar System.

Will the earths orbit decay?

What causes orbital decay for satellites in low Earth orbit?

It is the major cause of orbital decay for satellites in low Earth orbit. It results in the reduction in the altitude of a satellite’s orbit. For the case of Earth, atmospheric drag resulting in satellite re-entry can be described by the following sequence:

Why do GPS satellites need to be in Geo?

Clearly the GPS design does not require that they need to be in GEO. The GPS wikipedia pagementions that with this orbit, the satellites have an orbital period of about 12 hours, and thus follow the same track over the earth – this was useful for debugging when the system was first being set up.

Why don’t we use geosynchronous orbits for GPS?

Not having the GPS constallation confined to the equator line, as the previous poster pointed out, helps increase accuracy and reception everywhere in the world. Geek of all trades… There is another very good reason not to use geosnychronous orbits for navigation satellites… it leaves a large part of the earth without coverage.

How does atmospheric drag result in satellite re-entry?

For the case of Earth, atmospheric drag resulting in satellite re-entry can be described by the following sequence: Orbital decay thus involves a positive feedback effect, where the more the orbit decays, the lower its altitude drops, and the lower the altitude, the faster the decay.