In calculations done in class and in part (a) above Earth\'s rotation was neglec

Question

In calculations done in class and in part (a) above Earth's rotation was neglected, i.e. all velocities were calculated with respect to the center of the planet. Find the Earth's rotation velocity relative to its center at the equator. How does it modify the answer in (a)? How does the rotation velocity depend on the latitude? This should justify why all space agencies have their launch sites as close to the equator as practically possible - i.e. Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Baikonur in Kazakhstan (former USSR) or European Space Agency's center in French Guiana.

Explanation / Answer

The circumference of the Earth at the equator is 25,000 miles. The Earth rotates in about 24 hours. Therefore, if you were to hang above the surface of the Earth at the equator without moving, you would see 24902 miles pass by in 24 hours, at a speed of 24902/24 or just over 1037.58 miles per hour. Multiply by cosine of your latitude to see how fast the Earth is rotating where you are. i.e. 1037.58cos(latitude) hence relative velocity is proportional to cosine of latitude. The near-equatorial launch location provides an advantage for launches to low-inclination (or geostationary) Earth orbits compared to launches from spaceports at higher latitude

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