Escape Velocity Calculator

How to Calculate Escape Velocity

Escape velocity is able to be calculated with a couple of variables:

• Mass of planet


• Radius of planet

• V_e = Escape Velocity


• G = Gravitational constant


• M = Mass of the planet


• R = Radius of the planet

Understanding Your Results

When you use this tool you will get two different values as your results. Mainly, you will see the escape velocity which is the speed at which something would have to travel to break out of the force of a planet and get to outer space. For Earth, this is about 25,000 miles per hour.

You will also be shown the first cosmic velocity which is the speed at which something would need to travel to break into space and orbit the planet. This is common with satellites as they need to revolve around Earth, but to get where they are they need to be sent up at the speed of first cosmic velocity. On Earth, this is about 35,204 miles per hour.

How to Use the Escape Velocity Tool

Trying to identify the escape velocity of a planet, or Earth's, can be done rather simply with this tool. The steps involved with using this tool includes:

1. Enter the mass of the planet.


2. Enter the radius of the planet.


3. Ensure your entries are correct and the proper units of measurement are selected.


4. Hit the calculate button and get your answer instantly.

Calculation Example

We just discovered a new planet! This is an exciting new discovery and we can now begin to do research on it. We can use this tool to help us find the escape velocity of it. The planet has a mass equal to 5.5 Earth's and a radius of 10,000 miles. We can enter 5.5 into the mass field and leave the unit of measurement as Earths. Then, we will enter 10,000 into the radius field and change the unit to miles. We can now hit calculate to get an escape velocity of about 36,922 miles per hour and a first cosmic velocity of about 26,108 miles per hour.