A satellite orbit calculated with RK4

A fixed view of the orbital plane. Gravity turns the velocity continuously: fast near Earth, slow far away. Nothing steers the satellite along a prescribed ellipse.

Orange: gravitational forceMint: velocitySlate: calculated trace

Starting the RK4 calculation…

Arrows auto-scale independently to show direction; compare numbers, not arrow lengths. Earth and orbital distances share one scale. Satellite symbol enlarged. Trace retains the latest modeled orbit; no state reset.