Orbital flips due to solar radiation pressure for space debris in near-circular orbits

Abstract

Orbital plane flips, a transition from prograde to retrograde motion or vice versa, is a phenomenon due to solar radiation pressure that is investigated. We consider initial near-circular orbits with different inclinations, including the vicinity of orbits of the GNSS satellites, GEO, geosynchronous orbits, and super-GEO region. Dynamical evolution of orbits is studied from a numerical simulation. Initial conditions for the objects are chosen in the GNSS orbit regions (GLONASS, GPS, BeiDou, Galileo) as well as 450–1100 km above to nominal semi-major axes of the navigation orbits, and in the vicinity of GEO, geosynchronous orbits, and super-GEO region. Initial data correspond to nearly circular orbits with the eccentricity 0.001. The initial inclination is varied from 55° to 64.8∘. Initial values of longitude of ascending node are varied from 0° to 350°. High area-to-mass ratios are considered, at which orbital plane flips occur. Dynamical evolution covers periods of 24 and 240 years. The maximum inclination of the orbit is achieved when the longitude of the pericenter is sun-synchronous. Flips are possible only for objects with the area-to-mass ratio equal or more than 16 m2/kg (the radiation pressure coefficient is 1.44). The flips are caused precisely by solar radiation pressure. The Lidov–Kozai effect is suppressed by solar radiation pressure perturbations, affecting high area-to-mass ratio objects due to a secondary apsidal-nodal secular resonance.