What if a satellite went around the Earth in the opposite direction?

The animation shows retrograde and prograde rotation of celestial objects in Space.

The Earth is known to spin in the counter-clockwise direction when viewed from the top. It is known to spin at 1670 Km/hr which is extremely fast considering the size of the planet. From Earth, satellites are traditionally sent to space to rotate in the direction of the earth's rotation. This is normally done because of the speed advantage that the Earth provides to the satellite adding 1670 Km/hr to the speed of the satellites rotation this is known as a prograde orbit. Rotation in the opposite direction is known as retrograde orbits.


But what if a satellite were sent to space to rotate in the opposite direction to the earth's rotation? What would happen to the satellite and is it even possible. Theoretically it would be possible to send a satellite in the opposite direction but the risks are tremendously high. First of all the satellite would require a constant thrust that would exceed the 1670 Km/hr the Earth is constantly applying on this satellite. The next thing for making this possible is giving the satellite a strong frame work so that it can constantly sustain the forces of Earth.

There is a big difference between theoretical and practical application. Sending a satellite in the opposite direction and making it spin around the Earth is very difficult to do. If we did do it it could affect the spin of the Earth. Since the satellite is constantly going against the Earth's spin, it would cause the Earth to spin slower. The only problem is that the satellite may not affect the spin of the Earth to the point that we would notice it.

But there is one way in which this can be done. We could look at Venus and Uranus to understand retrograde orbits. A 90 degree tilt in Uranus's axis is the reason for Uranus's retrograde orbit. We could tilt the satellite at a 90 degree axis and see whether the satellite can rotate around the earth using the earth's prograde orbit. This won't even affect the spin of the Earth. Another way to do it is to cause the satellite to spin in the same direction as the Earth on its axis. This will cause the Earth to accelerate the rotation of the satellite sent allowing for a retrograde rotation.

If we were to affect the spin of the Earth then the moon could be the only known satellite to do it to the the point of being noticed. This will cause weather changes and harsh conditions in some areas on the planet. Day's and would become longer but other than that there shouldn't be any other changes.

Of what use can it be to send a satellite in the opposing direction? If satellites are sent in opposite directions then there will always be a satellite for giving you a strong signal for any application. This could be very useful in mobile communication and GPS (Global Positioning System). In today's current situation multiple satellites orbiting the Earth in the same direction give us our location. If satellites can be sent in opposite directions, lesser number of satellites will be required to give us accurate location results. This will save a lot of costs that is currently going into powering more number of Satellites and their constant maintenance.

I wrote this article and it was particularly so long because of the number of facts you get to learn when researching through this topic. I hope this increases your knowledge about the principles of rotation in Space.

Thanks for reading!