Equatorial Motion About an Oblate Primary.

Abstract

This Report discusses motion in the equatorial plane of an oblate primary. Included are terms due to non-sphericity through J sub 2 in the potential. This problem is exactly soluble in the same sense that the ordinary two-body problem is exactly soluble. The full solution is given, the connection with perturbation theory (as J sub 2 yields 0) is demonstrated, and the stability of circular orbits is discussed. The analytical solution involves all three incomplete elliptic integrals which limits its transparency.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 01, 1982
Accession Number
ADA117641

Entities

People

  • Laurence G. Taff

Organizations

  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Angular Momentum
  • Artificial Satellites
  • Cartesian Coordinates
  • Circular Orbits
  • Coordinate Systems
  • Differential Equations
  • Eccentricity
  • Equations
  • Equations Of Motion
  • Geometry
  • Grids
  • Integrals
  • Longitude
  • Orbits
  • Perturbation Theory
  • Perturbations
  • Time Dependence

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Finite Element Method (FEM) for solving Partial Differential Equations (PDEs)
  • Space Exploration and Orbital Mechanics.
  • Systems Analysis and Design

Technology Areas

  • Space
  • Space - Orbital Debris