NASAEducational Briefs

An Educational For the T

Publication 3 03
Of the classroo1 ,,
National Aeronautics '
wid Space Administration (NASA — EB-82-3) NASA EDOCATIOl1.XL BRIEFS FOR 883-13134
THE CLASSROOK. ORBITS OF BODIES IN SPACE
(National Aeronautics and Space
Adainistration) 3 p HC A02/MF A01 CSCL 22A Unclas
H1/13 01506
Orbits of Bodies in Space,_ would be about ttfe same as the revolution
perdd , but not identical because the Earth wobbles
slightly north and south.
A knowledge about the science and mechanics There are certain terms unique to orbits. In orbits,
of orbits is essential for launching, controlling, and apoapsis is the farthest distance from the primary;
tracking spacecraft. An orbit is the path in space periapsis, the shortest. For Earth orbits, the com-
along which an object moves around a primary parable terms are apogee and perigee.
body. Examples are the Earth's path around its pri-
mary, the Sun, and the Moon's path around its pri-
mary body, which is Earth.
A single orbit is a complete path around a pri- "mum
may as seen from space. It differs from revolution.
A single revolution is accomplished whenever an
orbiting object passes over the primary's longitude
dr latitude from which it started. For example, the
Space Shuttle orb;ter Columbia completed a revolu-
tion whenever it passed over app roximately 80
degrees west longitude on Earth. However, while
Columbia was orbiting from west to east around the
globe, the Earth was also rotating from west to east.
As a result, Columbia's period of (time for) revolu-
tion was longer than its orbital period. Satellite orbit showing apogee and perigee.
SPACECRAFT SPACECRAFT
„ m
In the case of solar orbits, aphelion describes the
farthest point from the Sun; perihelion, th4 nearest
point of an orbit to the Sun.
Another term is the orbital plane. An Eakh satel-
lite's orbital plane may be visualized by considering
its orbit as the outer edge of a gigantic flat plate
bisecting Earth. The imaginary plate is the orbital
plane.

LONGITUDE AT

LONGITUDE AT
START OF REVOLUTION COMPLETION OF REVOLUTION

Diagram showing satellite's west-to-east orbit

around Earth and how Earth's west-to-east
rotation moves longitude ahead. This diagram
shows how the revolution period can be longer
than the orbital period.
If Columbia were orbiting from east to west, its
period of revolution, because of Earth's west-to-east
spin, would be shorter than its orbital period. An
east-to-west orbit is called retrograde as opposed
to a posigrade (west-to-east) orbit. If Co,umbia were
traveling in a polar (north-south) orbit, it would
complete a period of revolution whenever it passed An orbital plane may
over the latitude from which it started. Its orbital plate bisecting Earth.
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 ORIiaN'M Fr,:_77 V3
OF POOR Q' AL
S
Inclination of Orbits gravitational pull as a body made up of iron. This is
because water has less mass than iron. You can
Another orbital parameter is inclination. This re- verify this by weighing comparably sized chunks of
fers to the number of degrees the orbit is inclined ice and iron. (Weight is a product of mass times
away from the equator. The inclination also indi- gravity. Iron has more mass so it weigh:, more.)
cates how far north and south the spacecraft will
travel in its orbit around Earth. 3. The closer two bodies are to each other, the
For example, in STS-2, the second mission of the
greater their mutual attraction. As a result, to stay
Space Shuttle, the Shuttle orbiter Columbia had an
in orbit, a satellite needs more speed in a low than
a high orbit. For example, Columbia's orbital alti-
inclination of about 38 degrees. This meant it swept
tude was about 250 kilometers (150 miles). Its or-
arouno Earth as far north as 38 degrees north lati-
bital speed was about 28,000 kilometers (17,500
tude and as far south as 38 degrees south latitude.
miles) per hour. Our Moon, however, which is about
Because of Earth's rotation, Columbia did not pass
442,171 kilometers (238,857 miles) from Earth, has
over the same areas of Earth on each orbit. How-
an orbital velocity of about 3660 kilometers (2287
ever, for purposes of description, it may be said that
miles) per hour.
Columbia passed over areas as far north as San
Francisco and as far south as Melbourne, Australia. Specifically, Newton's Law states that two bodies
A satellite in a polar orbit has an inclination of attract each other in proportion to the product of
about 90 degrees. As such a satellite orbits Earth, their masses and inversely as the square of the
it travels alternately in north and south directions. A distance between them. This calculation is important
polar-orbiting satellite eventually passes over the in launching and guiding spacecraft and is used by
whole Earth because the Earth is rotating from west astronomers to calculate masses of planets and their
to east beneath it. An example of a satellite in a satellites.
nearly polar orbit is NASA ' s Landsat whose cameras Any spacecraft Iauncoed into orbit moves in ac-
and sensors observe and provide data about Earth cordance with the same laws of motion that govern
and its resources. the motions of the planets around our Sun and the
A satellite in an equatorial orbit has zero inclina- Moon around Earth. Johannes Kepler formulated
tion. Examples of satellites in equatorial orbits are three laws that describe these motions. They may
commercial communications satellites such as be presented as follows:
INTELSAT. Later, this brief will describe how by 1. Each planet revolves around the Sun in an
launching satellites into near circular equatorial orbit that is an ellipse with the Sun as its focus or
orbits at the right altitude, the satellites can be made primary body.
more or less to stand still over a point on the Earth's
2. The radius vector—such as the line from the
equator. Such satellites are called geostationary.
center of the Sun to the center of a planet, from
They are in synchronous orbits, meaning they take
the center of Earth to the center of the Moon, or
as long to complete an orbit as for the Earth to from the center of Earth to the center of gravity of
complete a rotation. A satellite at the same altitude
Columbia—sweeps out equal areas in equal periods
in an inclined orbit may also be called synchronous.
of time. (See illustration.)
While the satellite would not move much east or
west, it- would move north and south over Earth to SPACECRAFT
the latitudes indicated by its inclination. The ground EARTH ORBIT
track of such a satellite resembles an elongated
figure 8, with the crossover point on the equator.
Al; orbits are elliptical in accordance with Kepler's
first law of planetary motion which is described
later in this brief. However, a satellite may be popu-
} EQUA^
AREAS ^
larly considered in a circular orbit if it is in a nearly
circular orbit. A satellite may be popularly con- Illustration of Kepler's second law. See text.
sidered in an elliptical orbit when its apogee and
perigee differ substantially. 3.The square of a planet ' s orbital period is equal
to the cube of its mean distance from the Sun. As
Natural Laws Govern Orbits
extended and generalized, this means that a satel-
lite's orbital period increases with its mean distance
Two sets of scientific laws govern orbits whether from the planet.
of natural bodies or spacecraft. One is Sir Isaac In formulating his first law, Kepler recognized no
Newton's Law of Gravity. Simplified, it is as follows: circular orbits—only elliptical ones—determined
1. All bodies attract each other with what is called by gravitational perturbations and other factors.
gravitational attraction. This applies to the largest Gravitational pulls, according to Newton, extend to
stars as well as the smallest particles of matter. infinity, although their forces weaken with distance
2. The strength of a body ' s gravitational pull upon and eventually become impossible to detect. How-
another is dependent upon its mass which is deter- ever, spacecraft orbiting Earth, while primarily in-
mined by the amount of matter present. For ex- fluenced by Earth ' s gravity and anomalies in its com-
ample, if two bodies are the same size, a body made position, are also influenced by the Moon and Sun
up mostly of water ica will not have as much and poss?oly other planets.

EB-82-3
Orbit DuraNnns and Velocities A satellite farther out from Earth would appear to
someone on the ground to move from east to west
Kepler's third law says generally that the greater although it is also orbiting from west to east. An
a body's mean orbital altitudt, the longer it will take example that immediately comes to mind is our
for it to go around Earth. This means that in a ren- Moon which, as noted earlier, is about 442,171
dezvous maneuver where, for example, Columbia kilometers from Earth and has a mean orbital speed
is trying to catch up with and retrieve an unmanned of 3660 kilometers per hour. Although this is more
satellite in the same orbit, Columbia must be de- than twice the speed of Earth's rotation, the Moon
celerated. Deceleration would cause Columbia to falls back relative to Earth's surface and appears to
descend to a lower orbit. In the lower orbit, Colum- all of us on the ground to move from east to west
bia's speed would increase. When properly posi- despite the fact that it is orbiting from west to east.
tioned in the vicinity of the target satellite, Columbia
would be accelerated to raise its orbit and rendez-
vous with its target. All of these maneuvers would
be precisely controlled by Columbia's on-board Questions and Activities
computer system which is programmed with equa-
tions derived from Newton's, Kepler's, and other 1. What is the difference between an orbit and a
physical laws. revolution?
An interesting and particularly useful phenomenon 2. In what kind of orbit does a satellite never have a
is the Earth satellite that seems to stand still in revolution around Earth?
space. Examples are our many communications 3. Describe Kepler's three laws that govern the
satellites. motions of planets around the Sun.
Actually, these satellites are not stationary but 4. What do the following terms relating to orbits
have an orbital velocity of some 11,000 kilometers mean: apoapsis, periapsis, apogee, perigee,
(6875 miles) per hour. aphelion, perihelion, and orbital plane?
Such satellites are in an equatorial orbital plane
5. Read about Isaac Newton in your Encyclopedia.
with an orbital altitude of about 35,580 kilometers
What other physical laws did Newton develop
(22,240 miles). In this orbital plane and with this
in addition to his Law of Gravity?
altitude, they tend to keep pace with points on the
rotating Earth. At the equator, the Earth rotates at 6. Give examples of how Johannes Kepler's three
about 1600 kilometers (1000 miles) per hour. laws are used to launch satellites and to send
These satellites are called geostationary, because spacecraft to other planets.
they are stationary relative to a geographic point on 7. Demonstrate the principles involved in geosta-
Earth. This phenomenon can be explained by con- tionary satellites.
sidering runners on a circular track. The runner in 8. What other satellites besides communications
the outside lane needs to run faster than the runner satellites are in geostationary orbits? What are
on the inside lane just to keep up with him or her. advantages of geostationary orbits?

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EB-82-3 U3 GOVERNMENT PRINTINO OMCE. 1982 361-570 414/3254 -