Quote:
Originally Posted by Fish
For a spacecraft such as the Space Shuttle, the Mir, a Soyuz Capsule or the International Space Station to maintain an orbit around the Earth at relatively low altitudes (anywhere from approximately 175 to 575 kilometers [~95 to 310 nautical miles]) it must travel at approximately 32,500 km/hour (~17,500 nm/hr). At these altitudes and at this velocity it takes about 90 minutes to circle the Earth once, so every 45 minutes the astronauts and cosmonauts onboard see a sunrise and a sunset, a total of 16 each every 24 hours.
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I had someone tell me several years ago, that orbit at low altitude such as the ISS does, isn't technically an orbit at all. It's a controlled fall, with the speed sufficient to keep it continually falling "over the horizon", so to speak. While that didn't blow my mind, I gotta admit it popped a little.
I'm certain you know this stuff, so: was he full of shit?