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Earth's gravitational attraction keeps changing the direction of its movement continuously. This keeps orbits near Earth - such as the ISS - in an elliptical orbit.

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Q: Why doesn't the ISS travel in a straight line away from the Earth?
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How would the motion of the moon change if there were no centripedial force acting on it?

If there were no centripetal force acting on the moon, it would move in a straight line at a constant velocity tangent to its orbit. This would cause it to travel in a straight path away from its current orbit, eventually moving away from Earth instead of staying in a stable orbit.


What do space probes travel away from?

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How many AU have you traveled if you travel 6 months?

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What would happen if the moon fell out of orbit?

If the moon fell out of orbit, it would either crash into Earth or be slingshotted away into space, depending on the angle and speed of its descent. Either scenario would have catastrophic consequences for both the Earth's environment and life forms.


If you travel to the moon at a speed of 1500 mph how many days will the trip take?

At its closest, the Moon is about 226,000 miles away. Moving at a speed of 1500 mph, it would take about 150 hours or 6.25 days to cover this distance. That's assuming you travel in a "straight line" from Earth to the Moon. The paths followed by spacecraft are not usually simple "straight lines".


How far from earth did man travel?

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Is it possible for time travel?

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Why doesnt a helicopter move away from the earth atmosphere as the earth always move?

The Earth's atmosphere moves right along with the Earth. If it didn't, then anybody standing on the equator would be standing in a 1,000 mph wind !