Learning Objective:
Calculate orbital velocity, period, and radius for satellites orbiting different planets.
Select Planet
Earth
Mars
Jupiter
Custom
Planet Mass M (×10²⁴ kg)
5.97
Planet Radius R (×10⁶ m)
6.371
Altitude h above surface (km)
400 km
ISS (~400 km)
GPS (~20,200 km)
Moon (~384,400 km)
Geostationary
Orbital Parameters
Orbital Radius r = R + h
6,771 km
r = planet radius + altitude
Orbital Velocity v = √(GM/r)
7.67 km/s
Circular orbit velocity
Orbital Period T
92.6 min
T = 2πr / v
Angular Velocity ω
0.00113 rad/s
ω = v / r
Escape velocity
from surface:
11.19 km/s
Orbital velocity is
68.5%
of escape velocity
v_orb = v_esc / √2 | v_esc = √(2GM/R)
Orbit Visualisation