Geopotential Harmonics of Order 15 and Even Degree, from Changes in Orbital Eccentricity at Resonance.
Abstract
When a satellite orbit decaying slowly under the action of air drag experiences 15th-order resonance with the Earth's gravitational field, so that the ground track repeats after 15 revolutions, the orbital eccentricity may suffer appreciable changes due to perturbations from the gravitational harmonics of order 15 and even degree (16,18,20 ...). In this paper the changes in eccentricity at resonance for six satellites in near-circular orbits at inclinations between 56 degrees and 90 degrees have been analyzed to obtain 11 pairs of equations linking the harmonic coefficients of order 15 and (even) degree l, C ave(sub l,15) and S ave(sub l,15) in the usual notation.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 1974
- Accession Number
- ADA005266
Entities
People
- Desmond King-Hele
- Doreen Walker
- Robert H. Gooding
Organizations
- Royal Aircraft Establishment