Space Flight Mechanics Assignment-01

A Report submitted
in course assignment for the Degree of
Bachelor of Technology
in
Aerospace Engineering

by

Prabhash Singh
(SC21B044)
pursued in

Department of Aerospace Engineering

Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology

to

INDIAN INSTITUTE OF SPACE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
October 2023
 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the assignment titled ’Space Flight Mechanics Assignment-
01’, submitted by Prabhash Singh, to the Indian Institute of Space Science
and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram, for the award of the degree of Bachelor
of Technology in Aerospace Engineering, is a bonafide record of the work
done by him under my supervision. The contents of this assignment, in full or
in parts, have not been submitted to any other Institute or University for the
award of any degree or diploma.

Dr.Aravind Vaidyanathan Sir

Professor
Department of Aerospace Engineering

Dr.Deepu M.
Place: IIST, Thiruvanathapuram Head of the Department
October 2023 Department of Aerospace Engineering

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 Declaration

October 7, 2023

I declare that this assignment titled Space Flight Mechanics Assignment-

01 submitted in fulfillment of the Degree of Bachelor of Technology is a
record of original work carried out by me under the supervision of Dr.Aravind
Vaidyanathan Sir, and has not formed the basis for the award of any degree,
diploma, associateship, fellowship, or other titles in this or any other Institution
or University of higher learning. In keeping with the ethical practice in report-
ing scientific information, due acknowledgments have been made wherever the
findings of others have been cited. I have duly cited all sources of information
used in this report, and to the best of my knowledge, the report does not contain
any plagiarized material.

Place: IIST, Thiruvanathapuram Prabhash Singh

October 2023 SC21B044

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 Acknowledgements
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all those who have helped me in com-
pleting this course assignment report.
First and foremost, I would like to thank my mentor, Dr.Aravind Vaidyanathan
Sir, for their guidance and support throughout the assignment. Their valuable advice
and suggestions helped me to stay on track and overcome the challenges that I faced.
I would also like to thank my classmates and friends for their support and encourage-
ment. I am grateful for their willingness to share their ideas and feedback, and for
helping me to stay motivated.
I would like to acknowledge that this assignment was completed entirely by me and is
not the work of someone else.
Thank you again to everyone who has helped me in completing this assignment. I am
truly grateful for your support.

Prabhash Singh

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 Abstract
At a given instant, a space object has the following position and velocity vectors
relative to an earth-centered inertial frame of reference (i, j, k):
ro = 20, 000i − 105000j − 19, 000k(km)
vo = 0.9000i − 3.4000j − 1.5000k(km/s)
(i) after using Algorithm 3.4 (Curtis 3rd edition) found the r and v, 2 hours
later.
(ii) Used a different initial condition (ro, vo) of
ro = 10000i14500j17430k(km),
vo = 1.2000i3.0000j + 1.4000k(km/s)
and found the ’r’ and ’v’ at a later time t=3hrs.

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 Space Flight Mechanics

(1) At a given instant, a space object has the following position and velocity vectors relative to an
earth centered inertial frame of reference (i, j, k):

r⃗o = 20, 000i − 105000j − 19, 000k(km)

v⃗o = 0.9000i − 3.4000j − 1.5000k(km/s)
Find v and r after 2 hours.

Solution:

p
ro = 200002 + 1050002 + 190002
=⇒ ro = 108560km
v⃗o .r⃗o
v ro =
r⃗o
=⇒ vro = 3.7167km/s
2 v2
α= − o
ro µ
=⇒ α = −1.8256 × 10− 5

Universal variable approach is used to solve the problem. Trajectory is hyperbola as α is negative.
Given, time elapsed, ∆t = 2 hours.

ro vr √
f (χ) = √ o χ2i C(zi ) + (1 − αrO )χ3 S(zi ) + ro χi − µ∆t
µ
ro vr
f ′ (χ) = √ o χi [1 − αχ2i S(zi )] + (1 − αrO )χ2i C(zi ) + ro
µ
f (χi )
χi+1 = χi −
f ′ (χi )
Where S(z) and C(z) are stumpff functions.

The above two equations are solved using Newton’s iteration method until the ratio of the function and its
derivative is less than 10− 8. The initial assumption of χ is given by,
√
χo = µ|α|∆t

=⇒ χo = 82.9861km1/2
Upon solving the two equations iteratively gives χ.

∴ χ = 37.4852km1/2

Computing Lambert’s coefficients,

χ2
f =1− C(αχ2 )
ro

1
 =⇒ f = 0.9935
1
g = ∆t − √ χ3 S(αχ2 )
µ
=⇒ g = 7186.1
√
µ
f˙ = [αχ3 S(αχ2 ) − χ]
rro
=⇒ f˙ = −1.6389 × 10− 6
χ2
ġ = 1 − C(αχ2 )
r
=⇒ ġ = 0.9948
Now position and velocity vector after the given time is computed using Lambert’s coefficients.

⃗r = f r⃗o + g v⃗o

=⇒ ⃗r = 26337.8i − 128752j − 29655.9k(km)

⃗v = f˙r⃗o + ġ v⃗o
=⇒ ⃗v = 0.862519i − 3.21015j − 1.46102k(km/s)
Therefore, the position and velocity vector after 2 hours are ⃗r = 26337.8i − 128752j − 29655.9k(km) and ⃗v =
0.862519i − 3.21015j − 1.46102k (km/s) respectively.

(2) At a given instant, a space object has the following position and velocity vectors relative
to an earth centered inertial frame of reference (i, j, k):

r⃗o = 10000i − 14500j − 17430k(km)

v⃗o = 1.2000i − 3.0000j + 1.4000k(km/s)
Find v and r after 3 hours.

Solution:

p
ro = 100002 + 145002 + 174302
=⇒ ro = 24780km
v⃗o .r⃗o
v ro =
r⃗o
=⇒ vro = 3.5214km/s
2 v2
α= − o
ro µ
=⇒ α = 4.9601 × 10− 5

Universal variable approach is used to solve the problem. Trajectory is ellipse as α is positive.
Given, time elapsed, ∆t = 2 hours.

ro vr √
f (χ) = √ o χ2i C(zi ) + (1 − αrO )χ3 S(zi ) + ro χi − µ∆t
µ
ro vr
f ′ (χ) = √ o χi [1 − αχ2i S(zi )] + (1 − αrO )χ2i C(zi ) + ro
µ

2
 f (χi )
χi+1 = χi −
f ′ (χi )
Where S(z) and C(z) are stumpff functions.

The above two equations are solved using Newton’s iteration method until the ratio of the function and its
derivative is less than 10− 8. The initial assumption of χ is given by,
√
χo = µ|α|∆t

=⇒ χo = 338.2068km1/2
Upon solving the two equations iteratively gives χ.

∴ χ = 248.2336km1/2

Computing Lambert’s coefficients,

χ2
f =1− C(αχ2 )
ro
=⇒ f = 0.0428
1
g = ∆t − √ χ3 S(αχ2 )
µ
=⇒ g = 7336.1
√
µ
f˙ = [αχ3 S(αχ2 ) − χ]
rro
=⇒ f˙ = 4.2566 × 10− 5
χ2
ġ = 1 − C(αχ2 )
r
=⇒ ġ = 0.0957
Now position and velocity vector after the given time is computed using Lambert’s coefficients.

⃗r = f r⃗o + g v⃗o

=⇒ ⃗r = 9231.12i − 22628.6j + 9524.78k(km)

⃗v = f˙r⃗o + ġ v⃗o
=⇒ ⃗v = 0.540468i − 0.904232j − 0.607969k(km/s)
Therefore, the position and velocity vector after 3 hours are ⃗r = 9231.12i − 22628.6j + 9524.78k(km) and ⃗v =
0.540468i − 0.904232j − 0.607969k (km/s) respectively.

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Reference
Orbital Mechanics for Engineering Students[3rd ed.]