Satellites stay in orbit because of their speed. This speed is called its orbital velocity. I've searched but the answers are a bit too complicated so I'm hoping someone can tell me in simple form ^^" xxoo Orbital velocity is the speed needed to stay in orbit . A satellite in orbit about 300km above earth must travel at a speed of 28,000 km/h to stay in space. How do satellites stay in orbit without fuel? $\begingroup$ Natural satellites don't stay in orbit either. A satellite in orbit about 190 miles (300 km) above Earth must travel at a speed of 17,500 mph (28,200 km/h) to stay in space. So really, a satellites ability to maintain its orbit comes down to a balance between two factors: its velocity (or the speed at which it would travel in a straight line), and the gravitational pull between the satellite and the planet it orbits . It just so happens this altitude and speed produces an orbital period that matches earth's period of rotation. Satellites stay up in orbit because of their speed. Geo satellites are in orbit traveling at about 6900 MPH with an altitude of about 22,000miles. I'm doing this science thing on astronomy and one of the questions is "How do satellites stay in orbit?" The exact same mechanism holds for satellites in low or high earth orbit. We can't launch satellites that weigh millions of tonnes (which is the lesson to be 'learned' from the 'designer' of natural satellites) so we have to make do with active control, which shortens their life. $\endgroup$ – JCRM Jan 17 '19 at 15:03 Further satellites are instead sent even farther away from Earth. Two things can happen to old satellites: For the closer satellites, engineers will use its last bit of fuel to slow it down so it will fall out of orbit and burn up in the atmosphere. There are several types of SATELLITE ORBIT.