3 - Orbital perturbations in the two body motion

Abstract

The two body orbital motion is considered as an undisturbed movement of a body about a planet. In Space, there is an unexpected environment that can cause disturbances to the motion of a satellite. The objective of this chapter is to present the perturbations due to the Earth and Sun that highly affect the orbital motion. These effects can cause variations in the orbital elements that are explained through Lagrange’s planetary equations. Throughout this chapter, the disturbances by the Earth and the Sun are explained in detail such that there is an understanding of how the satellite motion can be affected.