// ORBITAL LOGISTICS AND PROPULSION TERM

Orbital Velocity

The speed and direction a satellite is moving at any point in its orbit, crucial for keeping it in space without falling or escaping.

TECHNICAL DEFINITION

Orbital Velocity is the vector quantity representing both the instantaneous speed and direction of an orbiting body relative to its primary, essential for maintaining a stable trajectory and determined by the body's position and the gravitational field.

BACKGROUND

Sierra Space Corporation is a privately held aerospace and space technologies company headquartered in Louisville, Colorado, with additional facilities in Colorado, Wisconsin, Florida, North Carolina and a testing site at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama. The company makes spaceflight hardware for various applications across the industry. It is currently developing the Dream Chaser spaceplane. The spaceplane was selected by NASA to provide services to the International Space Station under NASA's Commercial Resupply Service 2 contract. The company is also in collaboration with Blue Origin to develop components of the Orbital Reef space station.

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SYNONYMS & ALIASES

  • Spacecraft velocity
  • orbital vector

USAGE NOTE

A critical vector quantity that dictates the trajectory and stability of a spacecraft's orbit.

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