Question

What does negative sign in total energy of satellite signify ?

Answer 1

The K.E is positive whereas the P.E is negative. However, in magnitude the K.Eis half the P.E, so the total energy is E = K.E + P.E = . The total energy of an circularly orbiting satellite is thusnegative, with the potential energy beingnegative but twice is magnitude of the positive kinetic energy.

Answer 2

The reason is due to the potential energy term which is a negative one. ... Therefore, the satellite will escape to infinity if its total energy becomes zero or positive. Since, the satellite is always at finite distance from the earth, its total energy can never be positive or zero