How fast do satellites travel in space?

Satellites orbiting the Earth such as the Space Shuttle make one orbit every 90 minutes and cover a circumference of about 40,000 kilometers. This works out to about 445 kilometers per minute or 26,000 kilometers/hour which is 17,000 miles per hour. Spacecraft such as Galileo, sent to Jupiter have exceeded 100,000 kilometers/hour or 64,000 miles per hour.


Copyright 1997 Dr. Sten Odenwald
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