Circular orbital speed follows from gravitational force providing the required inward acceleration.
Difficulty
Intermediate
Read time
5 min
Prerequisites
Basic algebra, consistent units, and the stated model assumptions
Source
OpenStax, College Physics 2e, §6.6 (Paul Peter Urone and Roger Hinrichs)OpenFormulaGraph equation reference; FormuLab adaptation details and license are provided below.
Adapted from OpenFormulaGraph, under CC BY 4.0.
FormuLab adapted wording, notation, applicability conditions and topic placement, and expanded the numerical check into a worked example. The textbook section reference was corrected.
Circular orbital speed follows from gravitational force providing the required inward acceleration. A satellite’s altitude must be added to the central body’s radius to obtain the orbital radius.
| Symbol | Meaning | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Circular orbital speed | ||
| Gravitational Constant | ||
| Mass (central body) | ||
| Orbital radius from the central body’s center |
Estimate orbital speed at a chosen radius.
Compare circular speeds at different orbital radii.
Find the speed of a circular Earth satellite orbit at center-to-center radius 6.771 × 10⁶ m using the listed constants.
OpenFormulaGraph equation reference; FormuLab adaptation details and license are provided below.
Adapted from OpenFormulaGraph, under CC BY 4.0.
FormuLab adapted wording, notation, applicability conditions and topic placement, and expanded the numerical check into a worked example. The textbook section reference was corrected.
Assumptions
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