Analytical Generation of Satellite Orbits at the RAE (Royal Aircraft Establishment)

Abstract

This Paper traces the development, at the Royal Aircraft Establishment, of computer programs for orbit determination and orbit evolution. The principal program, PROP, is still in regular use, having an accuracy of 50 to 100 m for the orbits of close satellites determined over a period of a few days even when the drag is severe. The chief limitation of PROP is the absence of lunisolar perturbations, but these are included in a companion program, PROD, for the evolution of mean elements. Work of recent years has focused on a framework for far more accurate representation and generation of orbits. The method is purely analytical (as in PROP) for short-period perturbations, applied compactly via the use of a special system of spherical coordinates, but employs a degree of numerical integration in the variation of mean elements. The goal is single program that would eventually supersede the the PROP-PROD combination, providing an accuracy of perhaps 1 m. Additional keywords; Artificial Satellites, Least square method, Fortran, PROP (Program for the Refinement of Orbital Parameters), PROD (Program for Orbit Development).

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Oct 01, 1984
Accession Number
ADA152655

Entities

People

  • Robert H. Gooding

Organizations

  • Royal Aircraft Establishment

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Accuracy
  • Artificial Satellites
  • Computer Programs
  • Computers
  • Ephemerides
  • Equations
  • Equatorial Orbits
  • Measurement
  • Numerical Integration
  • Observation
  • Orbital Elements
  • Orbits
  • Perturbation Theory
  • Perturbations
  • Radiation
  • Satellite Orbits
  • Solar Radiation

Readers

  • European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP).
  • Space Exploration and Orbital Mechanics.
  • Technical Research and Report Writing.

Technology Areas

  • Space
  • Space - Orbital Debris