LAUNCH WINDOWS FOR ORBITAL MISSIONS

Abstract

A great many orbital missions involve launching a vehicle into a particular earth-referenced plane. The launch window is defined as the time span around the nominal launch time during which the vehicle may be launched and the target plane achieved within a specified additional ideal velocity budget. The paper presents analytical formulations for the launch window as functions of the additional Delta V budget and other parameters for fixed and for variable launch azimuths. The effect of launch azimuth constraints (e. g., for range safety) on the launch window is investigated and several related problems are discussed.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 01, 1964
Accession Number
AD0601072

Entities

People

  • A. H. Milstead

Organizations

  • The Aerospace Corporation

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Angular Momentum
  • Artificial Satellites
  • Crossings
  • Equations
  • Flight Paths
  • Geographic Regions
  • Geometry
  • Latitude
  • Launch Vehicles
  • Orbits
  • Range Safety
  • Satellite Orbits
  • Space Systems
  • Spacecraft
  • United States
  • Vehicles

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Space Exploration and Orbital Mechanics.
  • Systems Analysis and Design

Technology Areas

  • Space
  • Space - Orbital Debris