The space shuttle travels at 17,000 mph,
7,589.288m/s while in orbit. how far away from the surface of the earth
is the shuttle?

544.818 km

The velocity of the space shuttle orbiting around the Earth can be determined by the following equation:

  (1)

Where:

is the Velocity of the space shuttle

is the Gravitational constant

is the Mass of the Earth

is the distance from the center of the Earth to the space shuttle

Now, firstly we need to find fromo equation (1):

   (2)

Substituting the known values:

  (3)

  (4)>>>This is the distance from the center  of the Earth to the space shuttle

But, we are asked to find the distance from the surface of the Earth.

If we want to find it, we have to use the following equation:

  (5)

Where:

is the radius of the Earth

is the distance from the surface of the Earth to the space shuttle

So, we are going to substract the radius of the Earth to the total distance from the earth's center to find this value:

  (6)

Finally, the distance is:

The center is basically the heart of it

Amethod of procedure that has characterized natural science since the 17th century, consisting in systematic observation, measurement, and experiment, and the formulation, testing, and modification of hypotheses.