As mentioned in Problem A.2, the ISS loses altitude due to the collision with atmospheric particles. This causes the ISS to experience a drag force Fd according to the drag equation
Fd =1/2· ρ · Cd · A · v^2
with the atmospheric density ρ, the dimensionless drag g coefficient Cd, the ISS’s cross-sectional area A, and the ISS’s speed relative to the particles v.
Use the rate of descent from Problem A.2 to estimate
(a) the atmospheric density ρ at the current position of the ISS and
(b) the total amount of matter (in kg) which collides with the ISS every day.
Note: The following constants may be helpful: the gravitational constant: 6.67 x 10^-11 m3kg^-1s
^-2
,
the mass of Earth: 5.97 x 10^24 kg, the drag coefficient of the ISS: 1.3, the cross-sectional area of
the ISS: 4800 m^2
, the total mass of the ISS: 450 tons.