Orbits of Satellites Quick Check

When calculating the velocity of a satellite orbiting a planet, the factor that is **not needed** is **the mass of the satellite**.

The formula for the orbital velocity \( v \) of a satellite is given by:

\[
v = \sqrt{\frac{G \cdot M}{r}}
\]

where:
- \( G \) is the universal gravitational constant,
- \( M \) is the mass of the planet,
- \( r \) is the orbital radius (distance from the center of the planet to the satellite).

As you can see, the mass of the satellite does not appear in this equation, so it is not needed for the calculation of orbital velocity.