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Why are satellites and rockets launched into space from equatorial latitudes?

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Why are satellites and rockets launched into space from equatorial latitudes?

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Getting a satellite into space requires that it be lifted up there. But that’s not all. Lift a rock up a thousand feet and drop it. It falls to earth. Lift it up five miles and drop it. It falls to earth. Lift it up a couple of hundred miles (into space) and let it go. It will fall back to earth. Surprised? Don’t be. We need lift, but we need to accelerate the satellite in a direction perpendicular to the force of gravity to put it into orbit (to achieve orbital insertion). Stand on the north pole and the earth turns below you. It’s like standing in the middle of a merry go round. If we launch from the north pole, we have to put in all that lateral energy. If we launch from some place closer to the equator (the closer, the better) we gain the benefit of the velocity we have because we are further from the axis of rotation of the earth (remember the merry go round). That means less energy is needed to place a given payload in a given orbit.

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