Calculate the exact speed a spacecraft, satellite, or moon must travel to maintain a stable circular orbit around any body.
Orbital speed is the exact velocity an object must maintain to stay in a stable circular orbit. Too slow and gravity pulls the object inward; too fast and it escapes into space. At precisely the right speed, the object continuously "falls" around the planet.
Orbital speed and escape velocity are closely related. Escape velocity is always exactly √2 (about 1.414) times greater than orbital speed at the same altitude. So if you know one, you can calculate the other.
Counterintuitively, satellites in higher orbits travel slower than those in lower orbits. Geostationary satellites at 35,786 km orbit at only about 3.07 km/s, while the ISS at 408 km travels at 7.66 km/s. Higher orbits take much longer to complete.