OBLATENESS-PERTURBED ORBITS BY VELOCITY-CORRESPONDENCE VARIATIONS.
Abstract
This paper presents an elementary treatment of the first order differential effects of the earth's oblateness on a close satellite using the simple notion of a varied orbit. The usual result of this approach is that the radial variation is unbounded for infinite time. The standard method of celestial mechanics for removing this difficulty is to analyze the perturbed orbit as an ellipse whose shape and space orientation are functions of time. It is shown here that the secular term may be avoided more simply by relating points on the varied and unvaried orbits by a type of radial velocity correspondence instead of the usual time correspondence, and by making the varied orbit osculate at a latus rectum chord end point of the unvaried orbit. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 20, 1966
- Accession Number
- AD0633239
Entities
People
- Willard E. Bleick
Organizations
- Naval Postgraduate School