Satellite orbits follow either circular or elliptical paths based on Keplers' laws of motion. Intrinsic assumptions are
that the mass of the satellite is insignificant compared to mass of planet Earth and that there are no other
gravitational or secondary disturbances, the only attractor being a perfectly spherical planet Earth.
Low Earth Orbits (LEO) range from 300Km altitude to just a couple of thousand kilometers and are
predominantly circular. Geosynchronous Earth Orbits (GSO) are located at an altitude of 35786 kilometers
altitude with the special case of Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) located at the same altitude but directly above
the equator. Both GSO and GEO tend to be circular. Medium Earth Orbits (MEO) range between these two limits
and can be circular or elliptical. Transfer orbits between the various levels, eg, GTO (transfer from low earth orbit
to GEO) are highly elliptical. Satellite orbits can have a range of inclinations from equatorial to polar.
In all cases to analyse the geometry we take a simple approach of setting the axis to be in the plane of the orbit
with Earth at a focal point of the orbit.
Circular Orbit
For a circular orbit the satellite will maintain a constant velocity whose angular acceleration will exactly match the
gravitational acceleration for its altitude. For a given altitude (h) the satellite's radial position to the center of the
Earth will be R = h+RE , where RE is the radius of the Earth. At this point the gravitational acceleration due to
the earth will be
GM
g= 2
R
where G is the universal gravitational constant and M is the mass of Earth. Typically the value of GM is taken to
be 3.986005x1014 m3/s2
Elliptical Orbit
V= (
GM
R
)
If the velocity of the satellite at a given altitude doesn't match the above requirement for a circular orbit then the
resulting orbit will be elliptical. The velocity will no longer be constant but will change with radius from earth.
The motion is still controlled by conservation of angular momentum and acceleration laws. (Kepler's Laws).
Conservation of angular momentum implies that m where m is the mass of the satellite, is constant at all
points on the orbit. Taking perigee and apogee points gives the following balance,
m =m V P R P=m V A R A
VP RA
=
V A RP
Conservation of energy implies that the sum of kinetic energy and gravitational potential for the satellite is also
1 2
conserved along the path. Kinetic energy of the satellite is mV , its potential energy in the Earth's
2
GM
gravitational field is m g R=m . Equating the energy at perigee and apogee points gives,
R
1 GM 1 GM
mV 2Pm = mV 2A m ,
2 RP 2 RA
1 1
V 2P V 2A =2GM ( ) .
RP RA
Applying the conservation of angular momentum result gives,
2 2
V 2P V 2P
( )
RP
R
2
A
=2GM
( 1
1
RP RA ) or V 2A
( )
RA
R
2
P
V 2A =2GM
( R1 R1 )
P A
V P = 2GM
RA
( ) 1
R P R A+ R P
or V A = 2GM
RP 1
R A R A+ R P
or rearranging for solution of radius gives,
( )
RP RA
RA= R P=
2GM 2GM
( RP V 2P
1
) and
( R A V 2A )
1
Period of Orbit.
2 2 R 2 R3 /2
P= = =
V GM
For an elliptical orbit the conservation laws allow a
mean motion approximation to be applied. Even though
the satellite velocity is increasing and decreasing along
the orbit, by simulating a circular orbit based on the
center of the ellipse, an equivalent period is obtained with the simulated satellite moving at a constant velocity
along this mean motion path. The period of the elliptical orbit will be
2 a3 /2
P=
GM
Location within an Orbit
Location of the satellite at any point in time within the orbit can be found by use of the mean motion simulation
and translation to a true anomaly ( ) (true angular location).
The process for calculating true anomaly (angular position) will be done in three steps. A mean anomaly (M) can
be predicted assuming the mean motion path for the satellite. Using the equal angle sweep equations based on
Kepler's Laws a relationship between M and eccentric anomaly (E) can be obtained, then using triangular
geometry as shown in the above figure true anomaly ( ) can be obtained from E.
tan =
( )
2 1e
1+ e
tan
E
2 ()
For small eccentricity, the relationship between true anomaly and mean anomaly can be approximated by,
M + 2 e sin ( M )+ 1.25 e 2 sin(2M)
a y =g . sin( )=g . y 0 / R
GM
where the local gravitational value will be g= .
R2
The new position can be used as the initial position for the next time step. The acceleration can be recalculated
for the new position and another step taken along the track. The process can continue in this mode for as many
time steps as is necessary to define a complete track.
The advantage of a numerical method is that it is not limited to simple orbits and can include gravitational effects
from other objects or perturbations from other mechanisms that may cause acceleration or deceleration of the
satellite.
The disadvantage of the numerical method is its dependency on the length of the time step to ensure accuracy. In
many cases the time-step will need to be very small to ensure the assumption of constant acceleration is
maintained and a desired accuracy of solution achieved. The solution process can thus require a large number of
iterations and hence take a long time. Modifications to the constant acceleration Euler integration method are of
course quite plausible and may be used to improve solution efficiency.
dV
m = T Dmg cos ()
dt
Rocket Launch/Boost/Trajectory Change Calculations
Initial launch parameters for a rocket can be estimates by analysing the following dynamic force
balance.
V = Velocity
T= Thrust
L= Lift
D=Drag
mg =weight
= angle between flight path and horizontal
T D
dV = . dt . dt g cos(). dt
m m
To obtain overall changes in vehicle velocity the above expression will need to be integrated over the time of burn
( t b ) that the thrust is applied.
V tb T t D t
V 0 . dt0 . dt0 g cos (). dt
final b b
dV = V initial V final = V =
initial m m
In orbit there is no atmospheric drag and solar wind drag is minimal compared to thrust. For circular orbits is 90o
so cos ()=0 . For elliptical orbits the acceleration due to gravity speeds up and then slows down the rocket
in a balanced manner so for small period rockets burns, the elliptical orbit natural velocity change effect can be
taken out of the equation.
tb T T dt m final T 1
So for these simple cases
V = o m . dt = m . dm . dm = m initial
. . dm
dm m
dt
dm
is the rate of change of mass of the vehicle and typically this is a reducing mass equal to the amount of
dt
exhaust gas leaving the exit of the nozzle.
dm
= m f Where m f is the flow rate of exhaust product from the rocket.
dt
T 1 m final
V =. . dm
m f m m initial
Ideally thrust is produced by the exhaust momentum T = m f . V e and by definition rocket motor efficiency
is measured by the amount thrust produced for a given mass flow rate of fuel , Specific Impulse (Isp)
T T
Isp = or = Isp.g 0 = V e
m f g 0 m f
Hence
m final 1 m 1
m . dm = Isp.g 0. m . dm assuming Isp is constant.
final
V = Isp. g 0 .
initial m initial m
minitial
V = Isp. g 0. (ln(m final)ln(minitial )) = Isp.g0. (ln( minitial )ln (m final )) = Isp. g 0 . ln( )
m final
minitial m
V = Isp. g 0 . ln( ) = V e ln( initial )
m final m final
This result can be applied in orbit to determine the amount of fuel required for orbital manoeuvres. Ideally
neglecting gravity and drag it can be used to predict the amount of fuel used for launch..
However, how can the effects of drag and gravity be included in a launch calculation?
1
By definition D=C D . V 2 A C D drag coefficient (may not always be constant)
2
density of fluid . Varies logarithmically with altitude.
V velocity of vehicle
A frontal cross-sectional area (may change as stages are released).
Gravitational attraction (g) changes with altitude and the flight path angle () with change from zero to 90o as the
rocket goes from vertical at launch to a parallel path in low earth orbit.
Simple formulae and integrations for these non-linear parameters is not possible
tb D tb
0 m
. dt and 0 g cos(). dt
The simplest approach again may be numerical rather than trying to find an analytical solution to be above
equations . Extending the previous time stepping approach and including the additional resistance forces would
allow prediction of accelerations at an individual point in time and hence a prediction of the velocity change and
new position a small time later.
Dx Dy
a x =g . cos () , a y =g . sin()
m m