LUNAR-SOLAR PERTURBATIONS OF THE ORBIT OF AN EARTH SATELLITE

Abstract

An analysis of lunar-solar perturbations was made. It is assumed that the Kepler ellipse of the satellite is perturbed only by the sun and moon, ignoring, for the moment, the perturbations of the orbit by the earth's oblateness and atmosphere. It is also assumed that the angular velocities of the sun and moon are small enough compared to the angular velocity of the satellite to consider the sun and moon fixed during one revolution of the satellite. This simplifying assumption makes possible the integration of the instantaneous rate of change of the orbital elements over one revolution of the satellite to obtain the change in orbital elements per revolution. The magnitude of the error made by holding the disturbing body fixed is estimated. The results are applied to the orbit of Able-3 (1959 delta).

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 29, 1959
Accession Number
AD0609389

Entities

People

  • Mildred M. Moe

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Angular Momentum
  • Angular Motion
  • Artificial Satellites
  • Celestial Mechanics
  • Equations
  • Hard Copy
  • Integrals
  • Mechanics
  • Nautical
  • Numerical Integration
  • Orbital Elements
  • Orbital Inclination
  • Orbits
  • Perturbations
  • Revolutions
  • Satellite Orbits

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Space Exploration and Orbital Mechanics.

Technology Areas

  • Space
  • Space - Orbital Debris