Satellite orbits

- Satellite(space craft) orbiting the earth follow the same laws of

motion of planet around sun
- keplers, Newtons law formulate the orbital mechanism

Kepler’s Law
- apply to two bodies in space which interact through gravitation.
- The more massive body is the primary-earth
- secondary - satellite
 Kepler’s First Law(law of ellipse)

path followed by a satellite around the earth will be an ellipse

 Ellipse has two focal points F1, F2

 The center of mass of the two-body system, termed the barycenter, which is always centered on
one of the foci

 Due to large difference between the masses of the earth and the satellite, the center of mass
coincides with the center of the earth, which is therefore always at one of the foci.
 Eccentricity of ellipse

a- semimajor axis, b= semiminor axis

e=0, a=b ----- orbit becomes circular
----------elliptical orbit
Kepler’s Second Law
 A satellite will sweep out equal areas in equal intervals of time, satellite takes longer
time to travel a given distance when it is away from the earth

 Satellite travels S1 , S2 m in 1sec

then A1=A2
Average velocity S1m/s , S2 m/s
Due to equal area velocity at S2 is less than at S1

Satellite take longer time to travel a given distance when it is away from earth
Kepler’s Third Law

 Kepler’s third law states that the square of the periodic time of orbit is
proportional to the cube of the mean distance between the two bodies.(semi
major axis a)
p2 α a3

 .

n = the periodic time =mean motion of the satellite in radians per second

The orbital period in seconds

 Terms for Earth-Orbiting Satellites
 Subsatellite path- path traced out on the earth’s surface directly below the satellite.
-projection of satellite orbit on the earth’s surface
Subsatellite point- The point on the earth vertically under the satellite is referred to as the
subsatellite point
 Apogee- The point farthest from earth.
 Perigee- The point of closest to the earth.
 line of apsides- The line joining the perigee and apogee through the center of the
earth.
Apogee and Perigee Heights
ra=length of radius vector between earth and apogee
rp=length of radius vector between earth and perigee
Radius vector can be obtained from the geometry of the ellipse

 apogee and perigee heights ha =ra-R

hp=rp-R
 Ascending node. The point where the orbit crosses the equatorial plane going from
south to north.
 Descending node. The point where the orbit crosses the equatorial plane going
from north to south.
 Line of nodes. The line joining the ascending and descending nodes through the
center of the earth.
 orbital plane : plane described by the satellite orbit
 Inclination. The angle between the orbital plane and the earth’s equatorial plane.
-It is measured at the ascending node from the equator to the orbit, going
from east to north.
 Prograde orbit(direct orbit). An orbit in which the satellite
moves in the same direction as the earth’s rotation
-The inclination of a prograde is between 0°and 90°
- Most satellites are launched in a prograde orbit (earth’s rotational
velocity provides part of the orbital velocity with a consequent saving in
launch energy)
 Retrograde orbit. An orbit in which the satellite moves in a direction opposite to the
earth’s rotation
- inclination of the orbit is 90° to 180°.
 Argument of perigee(ω): The angle from ascending node to perigee, measured in the
orbital plane at the earth’s center, in the direction of satellite motion.
 Right ascension of the ascending node:
angle measured eastward in the equatorial plane, from the line of Aries to the
ascending node.
- ascending node define the position of the orbit in space .
- Because of earth spins the longitude of the ascending node is not fixed. -
- therefore first point of Aries (ϒ).(vernal/spring equinox) is consider as
reference.
- vernal equinox is the moment of Earth's equator passes through the center of
the Sun
 line of Aries an imaginary line drawn from this equatorial crossing through the center
of the sun points to the first point of Aries This is the
 Mean anomaly(M): average value of the angular position of the satellite with
reference to the perigee.
-For circular orbit , angular position =M

 True anomaly: angle from perigee to the satellite position, measured at the earth’s
center.
-gives the true angular position of the satellite in the orbit as a
function of time
Orbital Elements(keplerian element set)
-Set of mathematical parameters that accurately scribe the satellite motion
- Six orbital elements- define the earth orbiting satellite
1. Semimajor axis ‘a ‘ - size of the orbit
2. Eccentricity ‘e’ - the shape of the ellipse
3. Mean anomaly ‘M0’ - gives position of the satellite in its orbit at a reference time
known as the epoch
4. Argument of perigee ‘ω’ - gives the rotation of the orbit’s perigee point relative to the
orbit’s line of nodes in the earth’s equatorial plane

5. Inclination ‘i’ relate the position of orbital plane to

6. Right ascension of the ascending node Ω earth

- equatorial bulge causes slow variations in Ω and ω

- other perturbing forces may alter the orbital elements slightly,
-two line elements provided to the user
Two line element
Orbit Perturbations

 The keplerian orbit assumes

1. the earth is a uniform spherical mass
2. only force acting is the centrifugal force resulting from satellite motion
which balance the gravitational pull of the earth
- Other significant forces are
a. gravitational forces of the sun and the moon
- negligible effect on low-orbiting satellites
- affect the geostationary orbit
b. atmospheric drag.
- negligible effect on geostationary orbit
- affect the low orbiting satellites below 1000km
Effects of nonspherical earth
Two effects
A. change of orbital period
B. produces two rotations of the orbital plane

A. change of orbital period

 For a spherical earth of uniform mass
nominal mean motion n0 is

(from keplers third law)

- But the earth is not perfectly spherical, there is an equatorial bulge and
a flattening at the poles, The resulting shape is oblate spheroid.
- For non spherical shape, the mean motion is

k1 =66,063.1704 km3

The earth’s oblateness has negligible effect on the semimajor axis ‘a’ ,but change the orbital
period
The orbital period taking into account the earth’s oblateness is termed the anomalistic period

The anomalistic period is

B. Rotations of the orbital plane
(i) Regression of the nodes
- nodes appear to slide along the equator
-nodes move in a direction opposite to the direction of satellite
motion, hence the term regression of the nodes.
-prograde orbit-the nodes slide westward, satellite moves
eastward
-retrograde orbit-the nodes slide eastward. satellite moves westward

 Due to regression, the line of nodes in the equatorial plane, rotates about the
center of the earth.
 So that the right ascension of the ascending node (Ω) shifts its position.
the rate of change of Ω with respect to time

where deg/sec or rad/sec

If is + ve, regression eastward, i > 900, retrograde

If is - ve, regression westward, i < 900, prograde

 - Due to equatorial bulge the line of apsides. rotates in the orbital plane
So that argument of perigee(ω) changes with time

Rate of change of ω is

when i = 63.435°, =0
 ω0 and Ω0 are argument of perigee and right ascension of the ascending node at
epoch time t0
New values for Ω and ω at time t is

- Polar orbit(i= 90° ),regression of node=0 , and the rate of rotation of the line
of apsides is −K/2
Atmospheric drag

 below about 1000 km, the effects of atmospheric drag are significant
 drag is greatest at the perigee and reduce the velocity at this point
 the satellite does not reach the same apogee height on successive revolutions.
 Therefore semimajor axis and the eccentricity are reduced
 change of major axis is

t0 is reference time
n0 is the first derivative of the mean motion.

Mean anomaly is also changed as

 Equatorial ellipticity.
- Earth is not perfectly circular in the equatorial plane. It has a small
eccentricity of the order of 10−5 This is referred to as the equatorial
ellipticity.

-equatorial ellipticity set up a gravity gradient, which effect the satellites

in geostationary orbit
-causes the satellites in geostationary orbit to drift to one of two stable
points, coincide with the minor axis of the equatorial ellipse.

- These two points are separated by 180°on the equator and are at
approximately 75°E longitude and 105°W longitude.

- Satellites in service are prevented from drifting to these points

through station-keeping maneuvers,

-satellites drift to these points, they are referred to as “satellite

graveyards.”