Orbital Motion Explained — How Objects Stay in Space
Blog › Physics · 8 min read · Published 2026-03-04
Satellites are falling — but so fast horizontally that Earth curves away beneath them.
Why Satellites Don't Fall
They ARE falling — but at ~28,000 km/h, Earth's curvature matches their fall rate.
Kepler's Laws
- Orbits are ellipses
- Equal areas in equal times
- T² ∝ a³
Escape Velocity
~11.2 km/s to leave Earth's gravity entirely.