ON THE EFFECT OF AN OBLATE ATMOSPHERE ON THE SATELLITE DECELERATION EQUATIONS.

Abstract

This paper deals with the development of relationship between the semimajor-axis and the revolution number of a close earth satellite in the presence of atmospheric dray. The atmospheric density is represented by a power function with an integer exponent. The power function is modified to take account of atmospheric oblateness. A relationship is first derived between the seminajor axis and the revolution number for a spherically symmetrical atmosphere. This relation is used as a core solution and a procedure is outlined for extending the solution to include the effects of atmospheric oblateness. These effects are treated as perturbations of the core solution. The perturbing terms are developed analytically as functions of a single variable. Several approximations are suggested for use in further development of the theory. (Author)

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Aug 24, 1966
Accession Number
AD0635235

Entities

People

  • Theodore Carlton Gerst

Organizations

  • Auburn University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Artificial Satellites
  • Atmospheres
  • Atmospheric Density
  • Deceleration
  • Equations
  • Mathematics
  • Perturbations
  • Physical Properties
  • Revolutions

Readers

  • Calculus or Mathematical Analysis
  • Space Exploration and Orbital Mechanics.

Technology Areas

  • Space
  • Space - Orbital Debris