How far from earth must a space probe be along a line toward the sun so that the sun's gravitational pull on the probe balances earth's pull?

258774.9441 m

Explanation:

x = Distance of probe from Earth

y = Distance of probe from Sun

Distance between Earth and Sun =

G = Gravitational constant

= Mass of Sun =

= Mass of Earth =

According to the question

The probe should be 258774.9441 m from Earth

hypothesising or postulating

the only real purpose of sputnik 1 was to beat the us into space. we were getting close to launching a useful satellite, explorer 1 - which launched on january 31, 1958. the ussr had to beat that, so they launched sputnik 1 on october 4, 19