Development of Finite Element Models for the Earth's Gravity Field. Phase I. Macro Gravity Model for Satellite Orbit Integration.
Abstract
As alternatives to lengthy globally valid series representations of the geopotential, piecewise modeling for the gravity field is investigated. A degree 23 spherical harmonic representation is replaced by 1500 local gravity functions within the spherical shell from 1 to 1.2 earth radii. Worst case acceleration errors enter in the 7th significant digit, computational speed is improved by an order of magnitude. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 01, 1977
- Accession Number
- ADA038463
Entities
People
- John L. Junkins
Organizations
- University of Virginia