Motion of Orbiting Satellites

You'll learnhow gravity alone bends a sideways launch into a circular orbit, and what speed that takes.

Launch it sideways at just the right speed and gravity curls the path into a closed loop — no engine, no support, a ledger that lives below zero. The satellite’s own mass never gets a vote.

8 STEPS · 6 QUICK CHECKS · v2

ORBIT LAB

Before you start

What you're looking at

A planet with a satellite released sideways at a fixed height, tracing a circular orbit path.

The question

What sideways speed makes a circle — and does a heavier satellite need a different speed?

Watch for

Gravity, always aimed at the planet, curving the sideways motion into a closed loop.

What the symbols mean

r is the orbit radius; indigo marks the orbital speed v_orb; the arrow toward the planet is gravity.

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