Is this for a science fair? lol
Anything put into low earth orbit - satellites, ISS, etc, still is affected by atmospheric drag.
Yes, even at 240miles up, there is still air, and that slows things down over time.
The ISS needs a boost every so often to keep it from getting too low, and most satellites have booster rockets to keep them on track.
Does the friction of the atmospheric drag cause heat on the satellites? I thought there was very little air molecules up there as someone explained to me that that was the reason satellites can pass through the thermosphere and not melt.
I would imagine there is some heat due to the small air, but mostly the little air just ends up slowing things down over a long time - like months.
It is very little air, but just enough to slow things down, not heat things up.
It's slowing due to friction, which causes heat.
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