Calculate period of revolution from radius and speed, or find orbital period, speed, revolutions per day, and altitude using Kepler’s law.
Period of Revolution Formula
The following two example problems outline the steps and information needed to calculate the Period of Revolution.
Variables:
- T is the Period of Revolution (seconds)
- R is the radius of revolution (m)
- V is the speed of revolution (m/s)
To calculate the period of revolution, multiply 2 times pi by the radius of revolution, then divide by the speed of revolution. For a circular gravitational orbit, the additional mode uses T = 2π√(r³/μ), where r is the reference body radius plus altitude and μ is its gravitational parameter. The model excludes atmosphere, perturbations and spacecraft mass.
How to Calculate Period of Revolution?
The following steps outline how to calculate the Period of Revolution.
- First, determine the radius of revolution (m).
- Next, determine the speed of revolution (m/s).
- Next, gather the formula from above = T = 2*pi*R / V.
- Finally, calculate the Period of Revolution.
- After inserting the variables and calculating the result, check your answer with the calculator above.
Example Problem :
Use the following variables as an example problem to test your knowledge.
radius of revolution (m) = 100
speed of revolution (m/s) = 30
T = 2*pi*R / V = ?
