RESONANCE EFFECTS FOR SATELLITES WITH NOMINALLY CONSTANT GROUND TRACK.

Abstract

Since a constant-ground-track satellite would continually pass over the same regions of the Earth, such orbits are in resonance with the longitude dependent part of the Earth's gravitational field. The situation is similar, but not completely analogous, to the case of synchronous satellites. For beta revolutions per day, the ground track will oscillate in longitude with a maximum amplitude of + or -180/beta degrees, the periods of oscillation being usually of the order of a few years for beta = 2, 3, and 4. These effects depend strongly on the inclination of the orbit. (Author)

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Aug 01, 1965
Accession Number
AD0477251

Entities

People

  • R. R. Allan

Organizations

  • Royal Aircraft Establishment

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Amplitude
  • Artificial Satellites
  • Geosynchronous Satellites
  • Gravitational Fields
  • Grids
  • Longitude
  • Motion
  • Oscillation
  • Resonance
  • Revolutions
  • Space Systems
  • Spacecraft

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Control Systems Engineering.
  • Educational Psychology
  • Seismology

Technology Areas

  • Space
  • Space - Orbital Debris