Abstract
The influence of the entire spectrum of tesseral harmonics of the geopotential on synchronous (24-hour) satellite orbits of small eccentricity and inclination is investigated. The dominant forces are due to the longitude-dependent term (J22) associated with the earth's equatorial ellipticity. With the J22 term alone there exist four possible geostationary points, symmetrically situated on the extensions of the principal axes of the equatorial ellipse. The two points on the minor axis are positions of stable equilibrium; the others are unstable points. When the higher-order harmonics are included, the symmetry is destroyed. Positions of the new geostationary points are calculated, as well as the separate librational periods about the positions of stable equilibrium.
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