Glenn s average orbital velocity was 17,544 mph. Suppose rather than being up in space, Glenn was traveling this fast on the surface of the earth. Estimate how many miles John Glenn traveled during his orbiting of the earth. Assume for a moment that John Glenn s orbit was circular. You should know that circular orbits are rather special.
Most orbits are elliptical.
The diameter of the earth is 12,756 kilometers or 7,928 miles. The Period is the time in seconds it takes to complete one orbit. Calculate this by taking the average of the altitude when the object is closest to the earth with the altitude when it is farthest from the earth and then add the radius of the earth. Do this calculation in kilometers. Mu is the gravitational constant of the earth.