Radiation Pressure Effects on Earth Satellite Orbits.

Abstract

view Abstract Citations References Co-Reads Similar Papers Volume Content Graphics Metrics Export Citation NASA/ADS Radiation Pressure Effects on Earth Satellite Orbits. Sehorn, Ronald A. Abstract Wyatt, Jr.). -The effects of electromagnetic radiation pressure on the orbital elements of artificial earth satellites are of interest in their own right, and they must be assessed independently for the accurate determination of quantities such as the atmospheric density at great heights and the characteristics of the earth's gravitational field. Wyatt has developed an analytical method for determining the secular change in anomalistic period of a satellite due to solar radiation pressure. The expression obtained has the form of a power series in the eccentricity, and permits computations to be done easily with a desk calculator. The present work has extended the series for period change to a higher order to examine its convergence, and has also applied the method to variations in the eccentricity. The resultant series converge rapidly enough to be useful for most earth satellites launched to date. As is well known, when the orbit is entirely in sunlight the secular change of period is zero, but the secular change of eccentricity is finite, even for e--0. Under these conditions, the satellite neither gains nor loses energy, but its perigee distance varies. When a satellite spends a finite fraction of its time in the earth's shadow, the secular changes of period and eccentricity are both finite, and the energy of the satellite changes. If e=0, the secular acceleration is zero even if the satellite enters the shadow. But the eccentricity is changing at e=0, and as soon as the orbit has a nonzero eccentricity the period begins to change secularly. The effect of radiation emitted by the earth has also been considered. Expressions for the rates of change of the period and eccentricity have been developed, utilizing a series of models of increasing complexity to describe the earth's radiating characteristics. Preliminary results suggest that a typical value of the secular acceleration due to this effect is about 10% of that due to solar radiation pressure. This work has been carried out under a contract from the U. S. Air Force. Publication: The Astronomical Journal Pub Date: June 1962 DOI: 10.1086/108861 Bibcode: 1962AJ.....67R.282S full text sources ADS |