Orbital Mechanics

Faraz Ahmed
May 2021

“In the celestial spaces above the Earth’s at-

mosphere; in which spaces, where there is no
air to resist their motions, all bodies will move
with the greatest freedom; and the Planets and
Comets will constantly pursue their revolutions
in orbits . . . by the mere laws of gravity.”
Sir Isaac Newton

This handout will give you a brief introduction to Orbital Mechanics. We will start
with some basic ideas and delve into some deeper topics later in the handout. You
are expected to know conic sections, calculus and basic mechanics. I’d like to thank
rogerdirac and superfapcheems for proof reading this handout.

â0.1 Newton’s Law of Gravitation

Newton’s law of gravitation states that every point mass attracts every other point mass.
This gravitational force on a mass m1 and by a mass m2 is given by

− Gm1 m2 − Gm1 m2
F12 = ˆ =
r21 r~
|r~21 | 2 |r~21 |3 21

G is the gravitational constant whose numerical value is 6.67 · 10−11 m3 kg−1 s−2 . r~21 =
~r2 − ~r1 is the vector pointing from r2 to r1 .

â0.2 Conservation of quantities in Orbital Motion

A conserved quantity in a system is that quantity which doesn’t change, that is remains
constant through out the motion. The proof of their conservation is left as an exercise to
the reader.

â0.2.1 Conservation of energy

The potential energy associated with the gravitational force is given by,
Z r
U=− ~F · d~r
∞
Faraz Ahmed (May 2021) Orbital Mechanics
Z r
GMm − GMm
U= r̂ · drr̂ =
∞ r2 r
It is intuitive that it should be negative since the force is attractive.
So, for any two isolated point masses m and M, the total mechanical energy E of m is
conserved.
1 − GMm
T + V = mv2 − =E
2 r2

â0.2.2 Conservation of angular momentum

The gravitational force on m is radial and the angular momentum about the origin is
conserved,
m~r × ~v = ~L

â0.3 Trajectory of particle

In this section we will implement the ideas from the previous section and find the
trajectory of a particle in such motion.

− GM
~a = ~r
r3
− GM ~ ~
~a × ~L = r×L
r3
We can write the left and right sides in terms of derivatives,

d(~v × ~L)
~a × ~L =
dt
− GMm GMm
~r × (~r × ~v) = [~v(r2 ) −~r (vr )]
r3 r3
Simplifying,
− GMm
 
d GMm
~r × (~r × ~v) = ~r
r3 dt r
 
d ~ d GMm
(~v × L) = ~
r
dt dt r
GMm ~
~v × ~L = ~r + GMmC
r
GMmC ~ is the constant vector of integration which lies in the plane of motion of m.(You
can prove this by taking dot product with ~L) We finally take dot product on both sides
with ~r
~r · (~v × ~L) = GMm + GMm~r · C ~
L2
= GMr + GMrC cos θ
m2
θ is the angle between r and C .

L2
r=
m2 · GM (1 + C cos θ )

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Faraz Ahmed (May 2021) Orbital Mechanics

This equation describes the trajectory of m. It is intuitive to us that C should be the

eccentricity vector, as we have studied the formulas of conics. With further work, we are
able to devise that, s
2EL2
C = e = 1+
( GMm)2
This is a pretty important result which will help us predict the trajectory of the particle.

â0.3.1 Circular Trajectories

We know that, for a circle e = 0, so

2EL2
= −1
( GMm)2

−( GMm)2
E=
2L2
From the previous parts, we can also get

L2
r=
GMm2
√
L = GMm2 r
GM
E=−
2r
which is quite important of a result to remember, since it tells us that the velocity v in a
radius r is, r
GM
v=
r

â0.3.2 Elliptical, Parabolic and Hyperbolic Trajectories

We know that for a parabola, e = 1 so

2EL2
=0
( GMm)2
which essentially mean that E = 0, since L = 0 is physically impossible in an orbit. This
tells us that r
2GM
v=
r
this is also referred to as the escape velocity for an orbit, since there’s no bounding effect
on the mass now(as total energy is zero).

This result also helps us in quickly deciding the velocities and energies in an ellip-
tical and hyperbolic orbit. Since we know that 0 < e < 1 for an elliptical orbit, the
following expression for energies and velocities hold true,

GM
0>E>−
2r
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Faraz Ahmed (May 2021) Orbital Mechanics

and r r
2GM GM
>v>
r r

Similarly, for a hyperbolic orbit as e > 1 the following results hold true,
E>0
and r
2GM
v>
r
One can also find velocity as a function of radial distance for elliptical and hyperbolic
orbits. With some work, we are able to show that
− GMm
= Eelliptical
2a
and
GMm
= Ehyperbolic
2a
So, by conservation of energy,
 
2 1 1
vhyperbolic = GM +
r a
and  
2 1 1
velliptical = GM −
r a
this is also known as the vis-viva equation.

â0.4 Kepler Laws

The kepler laws of planetary motion provide us with extremely important results. We
assume the mass M to be much larger than the masses of planets to have a ’nearly
isolated’ system

â0.4.1 First Law

Planets travel in elliptical orbits around the Sun as their focus.

This law is intuitive since their motion is bounded and their focus should be around M.

â0.4.2 Second Law

The rate at which the the position vector of the planet sweeps area is constant.

One can prove this in the following way,

Let the vector sweep area dσ in time and undergoes angular displacement of dθ
1 2
dσ = r dθ
2
dσ 1 dθ L
= r2 =
dt 2 dt 2m
Hence, we conclude that it is constant.

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Faraz Ahmed (May 2021) Orbital Mechanics

â0.4.3 Third Law

The square of the period of the orbit is proportional to the cube of semi major axis.
This is by far the most important Kepler’s Law in my opinion.
The general form for the period, T, is
4π 2 R3
T2 =
GM
The proof is left is an exercise to the reader, you can prove it using the relation between
area swept and angular momentum.

â0.5 Problems
I’d like to end this handout with a couple of problems as exercise and two example
problems.

Example 0.1
On 9 March 2011 the Voyager probe was 116.406 AU from the Sun and moving at
17.062 km/s. Determine the type of orbit the probe is on. (a) elliptical, (b) parabolic,
or (c) hyperbolic.

IOAA 2011/T/3

Solution. We can know what orbit it is by just knowing the energy,

1 2 GMm
E= mv − = 1.38 · 108 > 0
2 r
Hence the orbit is hyperbolic.

Example 0.2
A planet orbits around a star S, as shown in the figure. The semi-major axis of the
orbit is a. The perigee, namely the shortest distance between the planet and the star is
0.5a. When the planet passes point P (on the line through the star and perpendicular
to the major axis), its speed is v1 . What is its speed v2 when it passes the perigee?

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Faraz Ahmed (May 2021) Orbital Mechanics

F=ma 2017/25

Solution. We know, that the perigee is equal to

a(1 − e) = 0.5a
√
3a
which means the eccentricity of the orbit is 1 and the semi-minor axis is 2 .
We know that equation of an ellipse, centered at the origin, is

x2 y2
+ =1
a2 b2
so the equation of this ellipse is,

x2 4y2
+ 2 =1
a2 3a
So, r
3a2 − 3x2
y=
4
So, the distance PS is
3a
4
Using conservation of energy, we get that

3
v2 = √ v1
5
One can also use the vis-viva equation.

Exercise 0.3 (Proof). Prove that

− GMm
= Eelliptical
2a
and
GMm
= Ehyperbolic
2a

Exercise 0.4 (IOAA 2007). A Sun-orbiting periodic comet is the farthest at 31.5 A.U. and the
closest at 0.5 A.U. What is the orbital period of this comet? What is the area swept in square
AU per year?

Exercise 0.5 (IOAA 2009). Estimate the radius of a planet that a man can escape its gravitation
by jumping vertically. Assume density of the planet and the Earth are the same.

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Faraz Ahmed (May 2021) Orbital Mechanics

Exercise 0.6 (F=ma 2011/23). A particle is launched from the surface of a uniform, stationary
spherical planet at an angle to the vertical. The particle travels in the absence of air resistance
and eventually falls back onto the planet. Spaceman Fred describes the path of the particle as
a parabola using the laws of projectile motion. Spacewoman Kate recalls from Kepler’s laws
that every bound orbit around a point mass is an ellipse (or circle), and that the gravitation
due to a uniform sphere is identical to that of a point mass. Which of the following best
explains the discrepancy?
(A) Because the experiment takes place very close to the surface of the sphere, it is no longer
valid to replace the sphere with a point mass.
(B) Because the particle strikes the ground, it is not in orbit of the planet and therefore can
follow a non-elliptical path.
(C) Kate disregarded the fact that motions around a point mass may also be parabolas or
hyperbolas.
(D) Kepler’s laws only hold in the limit of large orbits.
(E) The path is an ellipse, but is very close to a parabola due to the short length of the flight
relative to the distance from the center of the planet.

Exercise 0.7 (F=ma 2012/25). Consider the two orbits around the sun shown below. Orbit P is
circular with radius R, orbit Q is elliptical such that the farthest point b is between 2R and 3R,
and the nearest point a is between R/3 and R/2. Consider the magnitudes of the velocity of
the circular orbit vc , the velocity of the comet in the elliptical orbit at the farthest point vb , and
the velocity of the comet in the elliptical orbit at the nearest point v a . Which of the following
rankings is correct?
(A) vb > vc > 2v a
(B) 2vc > vb > v a
(C) 10vb > v a > vc
(D) vc > v√a > 4vb
(E) 2v a > 2vb > vc

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Faraz Ahmed (May 2021) Orbital Mechanics

Exercise 0.8 (USAPhO 2015). The ship starts out in a circular orbit around the sun very
near the Earth and has a goal of moving to a circular orbit around the Sun that is very close
to Mars. It will make this transfer in an elliptical orbit as shown in bold in the diagram
below.
This is accomplished with an initial velocity boost near the Earth δv1 and then a second
velocity boost near Mars δv2 . Assume that both of these boosts are from instantaneous
impulses, and ignore mass changes in the rocket as well as gravitational attraction to either
Earth or Mars.
Don’t ignore the Sun! Assume that the Earth and Mars are both in circular orbits around the
Sun of radii RE and R M = RαE respectively. The orbital speeds are v E and v M respectively.

i. Derive an expression for the velocity boost δv1 to change the orbit from circular to
elliptical. Express your answer in terms of v E and α.
ii. Derive an expression for the velocity boost δv2 to change the orbit from elliptical to
circular. Express your answer in terms of v E and α.
iii. What is the angular separation between Earth and Mars, as measured from the Sun,
at the time of launch so that the rocket will start from Earth and arrive at Mars when it
reaches the orbit of Mars? Express your answer in terms of α.