orbital velocity

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orbital velocity

The velocity of a satellite or other orbiting body at any given point in its orbit. It is also the velocity required by a satellite to enter an orbit around a body. The orbital velocity, v, is given by the expression
v = √[gR 2(2/r – 1/a )]
where R is the radius of the orbited body, r is the distance from the center of mass of the system (i.e. from the approximate center of the primary), a is the semimajor axis of the orbit, and g is the standard acceleration of gravity. For a circular orbit, r = a and the circular velocity is given by
v = √(gR 2/r )

To escape from an orbit a must tend to infinity and the escape velocity is then given by

v e = √(2gR 2/r )

The orbital period for an elliptical orbit is given by

P = 2πa 3/2/√gR 2

orbital velocity

[′ȯr·bəd·əl və′läs·əd·ē]
The instantaneous velocity at which an earth satellite or other orbiting body travels around the origin of its central force field.
References in periodicals archive ?
Also, since F9 aims to get to orbital velocity, its velocity at approximately 9000 kmph is thrice as high during separation as the SN's 3000 kmph.
numerically evaluated the orbital velocity, particularly its horizontal components, including the effect of nonlinearity and current;
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Highlights include file footage of Sergei Korolev, designer of the R-7 rocket that launched Sputnik, and a lucid illustration of Isaac Newton's concept of orbital velocity.
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To get from a standing start to orbit, the NASP will need at least three different engine systems, including turbojets to allow the plane to fly at low speeds; an as-yet-theoretical ramjet/scramjet combination, which will take the plane from supersonic to hypersonic speeds; and rockets to accelerate the plane to and from orbital velocity.