Abstract
The orbital program for satellites at the Astrophysical Observatory of the Smithsonian Institution was originally built around three main routines, programmed for the IBM type 704 calculator. (1) Routine for the determination of an approximate orbit using three visual observations. (2) Improvement of the first approximate orbit by a method of differential corrections to the osculating elements, using any number of observations. (3) Ephemerides of various sorts, to suit different observing groups. As it turned out, a very important routine had to be added—a routine for the analysis of the incoming observations. Given a set of elements, this program derives subsatellite points from observations and computes the corresponding times and positions of the ascending-node crossings, which then can be tabulated and used for predictions.
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Schedule a callMore From: Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series A. Mathematical and Physical Sciences
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