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ResearchOrbit Calculator

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Orbit Calculator

Altitude and inclination in; period, passes and ground track out.

Formulas checked Oct 20, 2026

Example calculation 예시 계산 — circular orbit, spherical Earth plus J2, no drag. Good for intuition and coursework, not for operations.

Set the orbit

Sun-synchronous at this altitude: 97.50°

Presets

The address bar keeps your choice (?alt=&inc=), so you can share a result.

Period
95.1 min

T = 2π √(a³ / μ)

Orbital speed
7.60 km/s

v = √(μ / a)

Orbits a day
15.14

86 400 s / T

Track shift per orbit
23.8 ° west

(ω⊕ − Ω̇) · T

Shift at the equator
2,648 km

R⊕ · Δλ

Orbit-plane drift (J2)
+0.99 °/day

Ω̇ = −1.5 n J₂ (R⊕/a)² cos i

Passes over the station
3.2 a day

elevation ≥ 10°, mean of 12 start times

Station footprint radius
1,615 km

λ = acos(R⊕/a · cos ε) − ε

Highest latitude reached
82.5 °

i, or 180° − i

Ground track for the chosen orbit over 24 hours (example calculation)
First orbitNext 24 hoursVisible from the station (elevation ≥ 10°)Example ground station, 36.37° N 127.36° E (fictional rooftop)Simplified coastlines
Constants and assumptions
μ
398,600.4418 km³/s²
R⊕
6,378.137 km (equatorial)
J₂
1.08263 × 10⁻³
ω⊕
7.2921 × 10⁻⁵ rad/s (sidereal)
Sun-synchronous rate
360° per 365.2422 days

Orbits are circular and start at the ascending node. Passes are counted every 30 s over 24 h for 12 starting positions and averaged; a real pass prediction needs the satellite’s current elements (TLE or ephemeris) and drag.