# Escape Velocity Calculator — Fire Newton's cannon anywhere

> Interactive physics simulation for orbital mechanics and escape velocity. (iPhone/iPad app by Stuart Woolley.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/escape-velocity-calculator/id757789406 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Stuart Woolley](https://appshunter.io/developer/315697638)
- Category: Education, Utilities
- Price: $0.99
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 26.0 · 45 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2013-11-22
- Data updated: 2026-10-19
- Monetization: paid
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/escape-velocity-calculator/id757789406/reviews.md

## What is Escape Velocity Calculator?

Escape Velocity is Newton's cannon for any world you like. Fire a cannonball, a bullet or a moon rocket from a mountain top and watch it fall back, circle the world, or leave it for good. Everything is computed on your iPhone or iPad. No account. No subscription. No internet connection of any kind.

In the Principia, Isaac Newton imagined a cannon on a mountain so high it stood above the air. Fire it gently and the ball falls back. Fire it harder and it lands further away. Fire it hard enough and the ground curves away beneath it as fast as it falls, and it never comes down. Escape Velocity draws that thought experiment live, for real worlds and real projectiles, with the true orbit worked out from the physics.

THE CANNON
Choose a world, a charge and a launch height, then fire sideways or straight up. The view follows the shot, close in for a ball that barely leaves the barrel and drawing back to the whole world for an orbit or an escape. Every shot is paced by the physics, quick near the ground and slow at the top. It tells you whether the shot falls back, orbits or escapes, with the height reached, the distance to landing, the flight time or the time for one orbit. A shot too small to see is put into words: a rifle round fired up on a neutron star rises about the width of a virus.

Famous shots load at a tap: the Paris Gun from Pluto, a rifle on a neutron star, a jump off Deimos, the HARP gun from the Moon, Newton's own cannon from Earth, a cricket ball off the asteroid Bennu, Jules Verne's Columbiad, and a cannon hovering beside a black hole.

THE BODIES
Thirty-six worlds to fire from, most with a painted portrait: the Sun, every planet, the great moons, Pluto and Ceres, asteroids and a comet, a white dwarf, neutron stars and black holes, and three things people built: the International Space Station, the Great Pyramid and a Saturn V. Each page gives escape speed, gravity, mass and density, what you would weigh there, which projectiles get away, and for the compact objects how slowly a clock runs. Figures come from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and are sourced on the page. Anything still an estimate is marked as one.

THE LADDER
Every world on one scale of escape speed, from a pyramid you could leave by blowing on it to a black hole even light cannot leave, with every projectile drawn across it as a line. Anything below the line, that shot escapes.

THE ROCKET
How much fuel it takes to leave. Choose a world, an engine from kerosene to a photon rocket, and a payload. The rocket equation answers in both its Newtonian and its relativistic forms, and puts numbers too large to picture into Saturn Vs, Earths, Suns and observable universes of fuel.

THE FORGE
Build your own world. Give it a name, a colour, a mass and a size, then squeeze it until it becomes a black hole. The Earth does at 8.87 millimetres. Fire from it, edit it, keep it. Enter your own mass and find out how slowly something would have to move to escape from you.

Save any setup and come back to it. Share a shot as a card with its world, its path and its verdict. Read speeds in metres or kilometres per second, kilometres or miles per hour, Mach, or a fraction of the speed of light.

The approximations are stated rather than hidden. Worlds are treated as spheres without air, and where that matters the app says so.

Made for iPhone and iPad. One price, once. No adverts, no tracking, no analytics, no in-app purchases.

## Key features

- Simulate projectile trajectories
- Explore 36 celestial bodies and built objects
- Create and customize your own worlds
- Calculate escape velocity and orbital parameters
- Interactive rocket equation solver
- Visualize orbits and flight paths

## Is Escape Velocity Calculator safe?

Not enough ratings yet to assess Escape Velocity Calculator.

## Is Escape Velocity Calculator legit?

Escape Velocity Calculator appears to be a legitimate app. The AppsHunter Legitimacy Score for Escape Velocity Calculator is 90 out of 100 points across 7 verification signals from App Store and developer data.

## Recent user reviews (1 of 1)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/escape-velocity-calculator/id757789406/reviews.md

### 5/5 — Super!

*2019-10-02*

Die Marsianer saßen mir im Nacken und Treibstoff war auch nicht mehr viel in meinem Schiff. Dank diesem Tool konnte ich in kürzester Zeit die benötigte Menge berechnen, tanken und bin nochmal gerade so mit heiler Haut davongekommen. Danke, Stuart!

## Frequently asked questions about Escape Velocity Calculator

### What is Escape Velocity Calculator?

Escape Velocity Calculator is a paid app that simulates orbital mechanics and escape velocity. It allows users to fire projectiles from various celestial bodies and built objects, or create their own worlds to understand the physics behind orbits and space travel.

### What worlds can I fire from in Escape Velocity Calculator?

Escape Velocity Calculator features 36 worlds, including the Sun, planets, moons, asteroids, comets, white dwarfs, neutron stars, black holes, the International Space Station, the Great Pyramid, and a Saturn V rocket. Each world's page provides escape speed, gravity, mass, and density.

### Can I create my own worlds in Escape Velocity Calculator?

Yes, the 'Forge' feature in Escape Velocity Calculator allows you to build your own world. You can give it a name, color, mass, and size, and even squeeze it until it becomes a black hole. You can then fire from it and edit it.

### Does Escape Velocity Calculator require an internet connection?

No, Escape Velocity Calculator does not require an internet connection of any kind. It can be used offline on your iPhone or iPad.

### What devices is Escape Velocity Calculator available on?

Escape Velocity Calculator is available on iPhone and iPad devices.

### How often is Escape Velocity Calculator updated?

The latest version of Escape Velocity Calculator is 3.0, and it was last updated on October 13, 2026. Updates typically focus on refining simulations and adding new content.

### What is the age rating for Escape Velocity Calculator?

Escape Velocity Calculator has an age rating of 4+, making it suitable for a wide range of users interested in learning about physics.

### Does Escape Velocity Calculator have ads?

No, Escape Velocity Calculator does not contain advertisements. It is a paid application that offers an ad-free experience.

## Version history (last 3 releases)

### 3.0 — 2026-10-13

Escape Velocity Calculator has been rebuilt from nothing.

It now draws the answer rather than just stating it. Newton's cannon from the Principia fires from any of thirty-six worlds, from the Moon and Mars to Pluto, a neutron star and the edge of a black hole, and you watch each shot fall back, orbit or escape, worked out from the physics on your device. Figures for the planets, moons and asteroids come from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

There is far more to it. Famous shots to load at a tap, from the Paris Gun on Pluto to Jules Verne's Columbiad. Every world on one ladder of escape speed. The rocket equation, Newtonian and relativistic, for how much fuel it takes to leave. A forge to build your own worlds and squeeze them into black holes. Saved setups, share cards, painted portraits of the worlds throughout, and a layout made for iPad as well as iPhone.

No account, no subscription, and the app never goes online. One price, once, as before.
Everyone who already owns Escape Velocity Calculator gets all of this free.

### 2.0 — 2014-10-09

* Updated Graphics
* Fixed Several Typos

### 1.0 — 2013-11-22

No release notes.

## More apps by Stuart Woolley

- [Wiccan Wheel of the Year](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/wiccan-wheel-of-the-year/id322315841)
- [An Irish Calendar (Féilire)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/an-irish-calendar-feilire/id323710322)
- [BioFacts!](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/biofacts/id324812281)
- [ChemFacts!](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chemfacts/id325297696)
- [Wiccan Moon](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/wiccan-moon/id325693580)
- [Meteor Wheel](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/meteor-wheel/id338887663)

All apps by Stuart Woolley: https://appshunter.io/developer/315697638

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-10-19.*
