Quote:
Originally Posted by chefsos
I had someone tell me several years ago, that orbit at low altitude such as the ISS does, isn't technically an orbit at all. It's a controlled fall, with the speed sufficient to keep it continually falling "over the horizon", so to speak. While that didn't blow my mind, I gotta admit it popped a little.
I'm certain you know this stuff, so: was he full of shit?
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Well, I'd still label it as an orbit, but yes, the ISS and the space shuttles were/are moving at speeds sufficient to be falling toward Earth at all times, but the speed is such that they are falling past the horizon.
That's very different that other orbits, such as geosynchronous.