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In gravitationally bound systems, the orbital speed of an astronomical body or object (e.g. planet, moon, artificial satellite, spacecraft, or star) is the speed at which it orbits around either the barycenter (the combined center of mass) or, if one body is much more massive than the other bodies of the system combined, its speed relative to the center of mass of the most massive body.
A satellite in a synchronous orbit that is both equatorial and circular will appear to be suspended motionless above a point on the orbited planet's equator. For synchronous satellites orbiting Earth, this is also known as a geostationary orbit. However, a synchronous orbit need not be equatorial; nor circular.
In astrodynamics, an orbit equation defines the path of orbiting body around central body relative to , without specifying position as a function of time.Under standard assumptions, a body moving under the influence of a force, directed to a central body, with a magnitude inversely proportional to the square of the distance (such as gravity), has an orbit that is a conic section (i.e. circular ...
This can be seen in practical terms in artificial satellite orbits; in geostationary orbit at 35,786 kilometres (22,236 mi) the orbital speed is 10,800 kilometres per hour (6,700 mph), whereas in low Earth orbit it is 27,000 kilometres per hour (17,000 mph). Orbits can be achieved at any altitude, as there is no upper limit to velocity in ...
the kinetic energy of the system is equal to the absolute value of the total energy; the potential energy of the system is equal to twice the total energy; The escape velocity from any distance is √ 2 times the speed in a circular orbit at that distance: the kinetic energy is twice as much, hence the total energy is zero. [citation needed]
A line drawn from the planet to the satellite sweeps out equal areas in equal times no matter which portion of the orbit is measured. The square of a satellite's orbital period is proportional to the cube of its average distance from the planet.
In the special case of perfectly circular orbits, the semimajor axis a is equal to the radius of the orbit, and the orbital velocity is constant and equal to = where: r is the circular orbit's radius in meters, This corresponds to 1 ⁄ √2 times (≈ 0.707 times) the escape velocity.
Orbital position vector, orbital velocity vector, other orbital elements. In astrodynamics and celestial dynamics, the orbital state vectors (sometimes state vectors) of an orbit are Cartesian vectors of position and velocity that together with their time () uniquely determine the trajectory of the orbiting body in space.