station orbiting Jupiter

[kneejo]

sometime ago I planned a trip to Jupiter and put a wheel in orbit around it, but it kept de-orbiting before I arrived there. (about 8 months travel time).

What's a good rule-of-thumb for the altitude of a stable orbit for Jupiter (or any other body)?

My initial thought was that Jupiter's diameter is about 10 times earth, so LJO would be ten times higher.. 300k altitude on earth would have to be 3000k on Jupiter to get the same orbit stability.. but maybe my intuition is wrong about this, and it's not related to the diameter but something else.. please enlighten me on this

 

[RisingFury]

I think there might still be some atmosphere up there. I'd keep over 10 000 k as far as the atmosphere is concerned, but the intense radiation would cook the crew in a few minutes. If you really want a Jupiter station, make it very high up.

 

[kneejo]

lol, I only had to take a look at the jupiter.cfg atmo untill 3200k

 

[MJR]

lol, I only had to take a look at the jupiter.cfg atmo untill 3200k

Still. Since the gravitational pull is very strong your orbit deteriorates quicker.

 

[Hielor]

Still. Since the gravitational pull is very strong your orbit deteriorates quicker.

In the absence of atmosphere or non-spherical gravity, a circular orbit will remain so indefinitely. Any orbital deterioration would be from the Jovian moons.