Answer
a) increases
b) stays the same
Work Step by Step
(a) We know that the decelerating rockets at some point in the circular orbit of the satellite will cause the satellite to go into a new orbit, which is not a circle. The new orbit is an ellipse. We also know that the largest distance between the Earth and the satellite in an elliptical orbit, known as the apogee distance. Thus, the apogee distance increases if the speed of the rocket increases.
(b) We know that the smallest distance between the Earth and the satellite in an elliptical orbit is called the perigee distance. Thus, in case of the transfer of orbits, the perigee distance does not change and is equal to the radius of the original circular orbit.
