Chapter 1

Some Basic Concepts

1.1 Newtons law and inertial frames
The three laws of newton
First law: Every particle continues in its state of rest or uniform motion in a straight line
relative to an inertial reference frame, unless it is comepelled to change that state by
forces acting upon it
Second law: The time rate of change of linear momentum of a particle relative to an inertial
reference frame is proportional to the resultant of all forces acting upon that
particle and is collinear with and in the direction of the resultant force
Third law: If two particles exert forces on each other, these forces are equal in magnitude and
opposite in direction (action - reaction)
The rst law denes an inertial reference frame. If one inertial reference frame is know a whole class
of inertial reference frames is known. These are non rotating frames which are in rest or in uniform
motion in a straight line with respect to the rst inertial reference frame. This can be shown with the
Galilei transformations eq [1.1]. Assume that the rst frame moves with a constant speed of V and that
the second frame moves with a constant velocity W with respect to the rst frame. The time in frame
XYZ diers with a constant T and for simplicity sakes it is assumed that at t
0
the origins coincided.
The following holds: (also see g 1.1)
r

= r

W(t t
0
) ; t

= t +T (1.1)

V =
d r
dt
;

V

=
d r

dt

(1.2)
dierentiating eq [1.1] with respect to dt and substituting eq: [1.2]
d r

dt
=
d r
dt


W ;
dt

dt
= 1 (1.3)
d r

dt
dt
dt

=

V

W (1.4)
d r

dt

=

V

=

V

W (1.5)
We dened that

V and

W were constant so also

V

has to be constant so XYZ has to be a inertial

reference frame.
Newtons second law is:

F =
d
dt
(m

V ) (1.6)
From wikipedia: In mathematics and theoretical physics, an invariant is a property of a system which
remains unchanged under some transformation. It would be handy if this was also the case for Newtons
laws. We examine newtons second law in reference frame XYZ and substitute eq: [1.5]
1

F =
d
dt
(m

V

) =
d
dt
(m(

V

W)) =

F =
d
dt
(m

V )

W
dm
dt
(1.7)
So Newtons second law is only invariant if
dm
dt
= 0 i.e. for a body of constant mass. For a rocket, which
has a varying mass m is considered to be the instantaneous mass and extra apparent forces needs to be
added to compensate. The solidication principle can be used to describe the rocket as a body with an
instantaneous mass m and the thrust as an external force.
1.2 Gravity force and potential
The gravity force of body m
2
can be described as follows

F
2
= m
2
g
2
= G
m
1
m
2
r
3
12
r
12
(1.8)
g
2
= G
m
1
r
3
12
r
12
(1.9)
g
2
is called the eld strength and can simply be found by dividing both sides of eq [1.8] with m
2
. The
eld strength can also be found by taking the (negative) gradient of the potential eld. (In astrophysics
it is assumed that the potential at innity is zero so that U
2
0
= 0). Furthermore we assume for the scaler
U
2
eq [1.10]
U
2
= G
m
1
r
12
+U
2
0
= G
m
1
r
12
+ 0 (1.10)
g
2
=

U
2
= Gm
1

1
r
12
= Gm
1
_
d
dx
1
r
12
,
d
dy
1
r
12
,
d
dz
1
r
12
_
= Gm
1
_
1
X
2
,
1
Y
2
,
1
Z
2
_
= G
m
1
r
2
12
= G
m
1
r
3
12
r
12
(1.11)
The end of equation [1.11] is the same as equation [1.9] so apparently the potential at an arbitrary
distance r can be written as:
U = G
m
1
r
(1.12)
eq [1.12] can be dierentiated wrt the mass. To nd the gravity eld of a body this equation needs to
be integrated over the body. Only for spherical shells of constant mass density and spheres with a radial
symmetric mass density distribution there is a closed form analytical solution.
dU = G
dm
r
(1.13)
For a spherical shell the following holds (see also g 1.3)
dm = (2Rsin )(Rd)t (1.14)
dU
P
= G
2R
2
t sin d
r
(1.15)
M = 4R
2
t (1.16)
r
2
= (Rsin )
2
+ (l Rcos )
2
= R
2
sin
2
+l
2
2Rl cos +R
2
cos
2

= R
2
(sin
2
+ cos
2
) +l
2
2Rl cos
= R
2
+l
2
2Rl cos (1.17)
2rdr = 2RLsin d (1.18)
dr
d
=
Rl sin
r
=
Rl sin

R
2
+l
2
2Rl cos
(1.19)
d =

R
2
+l
2
2Rl cos
Rl sin
dr (1.20)
2
substituting [1.14] into [1.13] gives [1.15]. Substituting [1.16] and [1.17] into [1.15] gives [1.21]. Substi-
tuting [1.17] into [1.18] gives [1.19].
U
P
=
1
2
GM
_

=0
sin d

R
2
+l
2
2Rl cos
(1.21)
Substituting [??] into [1.21] gives [1.22] for l< R (point inside sphere) and [1.23] for l > R (point outside
sphere).
U
p
inside
=
1
2
GM
Rl
_
r=l+R
r=Rl
dr =
1
2
GM
Rl
(R +l (R l)) =
GM
R
(1.22)
U
p
outside
=
1
2
GM
Rl
_
r=lR
r=Rl
dr =
1
2
GM
Rl
(R +l (l R)) =
GM
l
(1.23)
If a body has a radially symmetric density distribution it can be modeled as a series of spherical shells
with the same center. Giving each shell an index i with a mass M
i
the following is valid
U
P
outside
=
G
l

i
M
i
=
GM
T
l
(1.24)
Looking back one can say that a force in an arbitrary direction, lets say x can be expressed as [1.25]
F
P
x
= m
p
U
p
x
(1.25)
F
P
x
inside
= m
p

x
GM
R
= 0 (1.26)
F
P
x
outside
= m
p

x
GM
l
=
GM
T
m
p
l
2
(1.27)
So if the point lies inside the sphere the neto force is 0 and if it lies outside the sphere the force is directed
along l and can be calculated with [1.27].
It is of course also possible to write out [1.13] for arbitrary bodies. To come to a solution one can
do a series expension and truncated all higher order terms. Rearranging and simplifying gives [1.28]
U =
GM
l

1
2
G
l
3
(A+B +C 3D) (1.28)
A =
_
(y
2
+z
2
)dm (1.29)
B =
_
(x
2
+z
2
)dm (1.30)
C =
_
(x
2
+y
2
)dm (1.31)
D =
_
r
2
sin
2
dm (1.32)
These terms might look familiar because A,B and C are the moment of inertia around the X,Y and Z
axis and D is the moment of inertia around the line OP (the line between the Origin of the reference
frame of the body and the particle P). For a sphere all the inertias are equal which gives equation [1.27]
again.
One can also simplify equation [1.28] for rotational symmetric bodies. For such bodies A=B and
D = Acos
2
+C sin
2
. This results in [1.34]
3
_
C A
Ml
2
_
earth
= J
2
1.086 10
3
(1.33)
U =
GM
l
[1
C A
Ml
2
(3 sin
2
1)] =
GM
l
[1 J
2
(3 sin
2
1)] (1.34)
This is solved by me, and not in the reader. Please conrm yourself
Per denition the force in the direction of l, so the nd it, you only have to dierentiate with respect to l
F
l
= m
2
dU
dl
= m
2
d
dl
GMl
2
+
1
2
J
2
R
2
(3 sin
2
1)l
3
(1.35)
= m
2
_

GM
l
2

3
2
J
2
R
2
GM
l
4
(3 sin
2
1)
_
(1.36)
=
GMm
2
l
2
_
1 +J
2
3
2
_
R
l
_
2
(3 sin
2
1)
_
(1.37)
hmm This is incorrect because the nal answer should be:
F
l
=
GMm
2
l
2
_
1 +J
2
3
2
_
R
l
_
2
(3 cos
2
1)
_
(1.38)
1.3 rocket maneuvering
When using an impulsive shot the following is valid:

H = r
0

V
1
r
0

V
0
= r
0

V (1.39)
E =
1
2
(V
2
1
V
2
0
) =
1
2
_
(

V
0
+ v) (

V
0
+ v) V
2
0
_
=
1
2
(V )
2
+

V
0

V (1.40)
From these equation the following can be determined:
For a given V the maximum change in orbital angular momentum (H) is achieved if the impulsive
shot is executed when the spacecraft is farthest away from Earth and of

V is perpendicular to
r
0
.
If the direction of the orbital angular momentum vector should bot be changed,

V should be
directed in the initial orbital plane and vice versa
The maximum change in (total) orbital energy is achieved if the impulsive shot is executed at the
point in the orbit where the velocity reaches a maximum value, and if

V is directed along the

velocity vector

V
0
Most rockets burns are not impulse shot so Tsiolkovskis law has an extra term for the gravity losses
(second right hand term)
V = v
e
ln
M
0
M
e

_
t
e
t
0
g sin dt (1.41)
4
Chapter 2
Many-body problem
Second law of Newton :

F = m
d
2
r
dt
2
(2.1)
Gravity law of Newton : F
ij
= G
m
i
m
j
r
3
ij
r
ij
(2.2)
EoM of body i : m
i
d
2
r
i
dt
2
= G

j=i
m
i
m
j
r
3
ij
r
ij
(2.3)
Potential eld
g = U =
_
_

j=i
G
m
i
m
j
r
ij
_
_
+U
i
0
(2.4)
= G

j=i
m
j

j=i
r
1
ij
= G

j=i
m
j

j=i
r
ij
2
= G

j=i
m
j
r
3
ij
r
ij
(2.5)
This forceeld is not conservative because when looking to a point xed in an inertial frame the potential
eld will dier because the bodies j move in time. The sum of the potential and kinetic and potential
energy of body m
i
is not constant. (Part its energy will ow into the bodies j and vice versa)
With the use of a auxiliary variable and dierentiation the next equation can be found:

i
1
2
m
i
V
2
i

1
2
G

j=i
m
i
m
j
r
ij
= C (2.6)
Or in short (watch the sign change and denition of E
p
)
E
k
+E
P
= C (2.7)
When taking a closer look one can see that as two bodies approach each other very closely ,r
ij
, the
potential energy goes to innity and the only solution is that the speed of one of the bodies also goes to
innity (V
i
). Or in other words, at least one body reaches escape velocity (r
i
).
By using steiners rule for the moment of inertia, dierentiating twice using an auxiliary variable and
substituting previous equations the following can be found:
dI
dt
= 2

i
m
i
r
i

V
i
(2.8)
d
2
I
dt
2
= 4E
k
+ 2E
P
(2.9)
5
To have a stable system it is necessary that
d
2
I
dt
2
< 0 or else the moment of inertia at the end will grow
to inty, meaning that at least one body is a innity distance which is not of course not a stable system.
Substituting 2.7 in 2.9 gives:
d
2
I
dt
2
= 4E
k
+ 2(C E
k
) = 2C + 2E
k
(2.10)
So to have a stable system C < 0 but one also has to look further. To determine if a system is really
stable we integrate 2.9 over a long period of time, t
e
, and take the average.
1
t
e
_
t
e
0
d
2
I
dt
2
dt =
4
t
e
_
t
e
0
E
k
dt +
2
t
e
_
t
e
0
E
P
dt (2.11)
1
t
e
_
dI
dt
_
t
e
0
= 4

E
k
+ 2

E
P
(2.12)
substitute 2.8 gives:
2
t
e
[

i
m
i
r
i

V
i
]
t
e
0
= 4

E
k
+ 2

E
P
(2.13)
1
t
e
[

i
m
i
r
i

V
i
]
t
e
0
= 2

E
k
+

E
P
(2.14)
Because in a stable system no collision or escapes happen the term between square brackets stays nite.
In the limit case (lim
t
e
0
) the left hand side of the equation will become zero. Giving:
2

E
k
+

E
P
= 0 (2.15)

E
k
=
1
2

E
P
(2.16)
Also the following holds when substituting 2.7 in 2.15
2

E
k
+ (C E
k
) = 0 (2.17)
E
k
= C (2.18)
6
Chapter 3
Three body problem
3.1 Equations of motion
When describing the motion of a body while there are only two other bodies the EoM reduces to:
d
2
r
i
dt
2
= G
m
j
r
ij
r
ij
+G
m
k
r
ik
r
ik
(3.1)
When this set is written as an set of rst order dierential equations we have three bodies with each six
dierential equations (dx dy and dz with respect to two other bodies) giving us a total of 18 unknowns,
or in other words of the order 18. By using the ten integrals of motion, the invariable plane of Laplace as
reference plane and a angular coordinate to replace time, the order can reduced with a factor 12. This
still leaves an order six dierential equation to be solved. An other approach is by using center-of-mass
integrals, rewriting the equations in such a way that they are with respect to the center of mass of the
system and with respect to the center of mass of body P
1
and P
2
combined, Jacobi reduced this set to
an order 12. (which can be solved with the above mentioned tricks) The Jacobi set is:
d
2

R
dt
2
= GM
_

r
13
r
3
13
+ (1 )
r
23
r
3
23
_
(3.2)
d
2
r
12
dt
2
= G
_
(m
1
+m
2
)
r
12
r
3
12
+m
3
_
r
13
r
3
13

r
23
r
3
23
__
(3.3)
=
m
1
m
1
+m
2
(3.4)
R is the vector between the CoM of body P
1
and P
2
combined and P
3
. For the Lunar case were P
1
is
the Earth, P
2
the Moon and P
3
is the sun. And for the planetary case were P
1
is the Sun, P
2
is the
Earth and P
3
and planet, the following holds:
lunar case: 1 ; r
13
r
23


R (3.5)
planetary case: 1 ;
m
3
m
1
+m
2
1 ; r
13


R (3.6)
Both set of approximations give the same simplied results:
d
2

R
dt
2
= GM

R
R
3
(3.7)
d
2
r
12
dt
2
= G(m
1
+m
2
)
r
12
r
3
12
(3.8)
The rst equation describes the motion of CoM of body P
1
and P
2
with respect to P
3
and the second
equation describes the relative motion of body P
1
with respect to P
2
. In these special cases the motion
of the bodies may be approximated by a superposition of two two-body trajectories. (The earth moon
system circles around the sun, and the moon circles around the earth)
7
3.2 Circular restricted three-body problem
By assuming that the mass of body P
1
and P
2
are much larger than the mass of P
3
and by assuming
that the two massive bodies move in circular orbits around the CoM of the system equation 3.1 reduces.
When also a new (pseudo-)inertial reference frame is used this gives: (see also g 3.4)
d
2
r
dt
2
= G
m
1
r
1
r
1
+G
m
2
r
2
r
2
(3.9)
By rewriting this equation for the movement of body P
3
in a rotating reference frame with the same
origin and its X-axis alligned with the line r
12
, assuming that the velocity body P
3
in this reference
frame is 0 gives the equation for the surface of Hill. In this equation x and y are the coordinates in the
rotating reference frame and r
1
and r
2
are the distances between body P
1
and P
3
, and between P
2
and
P
3
. is a mass ratio and C is an intergration constant which is determined by the position and velocity
of body P
3
at time t =0.
x
2
+y
2
+
2(1 )
r
1
+
2
r
2
= C (3.10)
=
m
2
m
1
+m
2
(3.11)
By looking at cross section in the XY plane for z=0 simplies this equation to:
r
2
+
2(1 )
r
1
+
2
r
2
= C (3.12)
If we look for solutions when C is very large there are three possibilities: r
2
is very large (so body P
3
very far away from the CoM of the whole system), r
1
is very small (Body P
3
is very close to Body P
1
)
and r
2
is very small (Body P
3
is very close to Body P
2
). If C becomes smaller there will be more possible
solutions, It is possible for body P
3
to be located further from P
1
and P
2
. So the areas will grow and
the places where to areas meet for the rst time a Lagrange point is located. (see g 3.6)
A Lagrange libration point is place where centripetal forces on body P
3
have the same magnitude and
opposite direction as the combined gravitational force of body P
1
and P
2
of body P
3
. (Remember the
whole reference frame is rotating, Body P
1
and P
2
are still rotating around the CoM of the whole system,
and with them body P
3
. Only the relative position of body P
3
does not change). The equilibrium in
point L
1
, L
2
and L
3
are not stable, point L
4
and L
5
are stable for certain values of and eccentricity.
Sidenote, a lissajous orbit is a quasi-periodic orbital trajectory and does not have to be round or elliptical
(think gure of eight and even more complex gures). However for realistic cases they can be considered
as slowly-changing elliptical paths. It can be shown that for the collinear libration points (L
1
, L
2
and
L
3
) the major axis is aligned with the Y axis (perpendicular to the line between P
1
and P
2
). The orbit
direction is clockwise looking top down. For the equilateral libration points(L
4
and L
5
) it can be shown
that major axis is rotated 30 degrees with respect to the X axis. Halo orbits are special lissajous orbits
around collinear libration points which are very long elongated but have xed geometry and size and are
closed loop. (They are real orbits).
Halo orbits are very handy if you want the have a xed position with respect to the other body. The
Earth-Sun L1 point is multiple times used to study the sun. The Sun-Earth L2 point can be used if you
always want to be in the dark (cold), to study deep space. Furthermore the gravity gradient is very low
(gravity eld is weak) so gravity distorsions are lower and higer pointing accuracy can be obtained (deep
space telescopes)
8
Chapter 4
Relative motion in the many-body
problem
In real life there are no real two body problems. There are always other bodies like, the sun, other
planets and even galaxies which have an inuence on the trajectory. These forces are small compared to
the forces between the two main bodies and can be seen as disturbance forces. These forces are small
because the distance is very large or because the mass is relatively low. To derive a usefull equation we
start again with
m
i
d
2
r
i
dt
2
= G

j=i
m
i
m
j
r
3
ij
r
ij
(4.1)
Lets assume that there is one main body k, a body i and a disturbing body j. First step is the write
the EoM of body i and k with respect to an inertial reference frame. By substrating the EoM of body
k from body i, the equation of motion for body i in a non rotating (non inertial) with as center body k
can be found. (The EoM of body i with respect to body k)
m
i

r
i
= G
m
i
m
k
r
3
ik
r
ik
+G

j=i=k
m
i
m
j
r
ij

rij (4.2)
m
k

r
k
= G
m
k
m
i
r
3
ki
r
ki
+G

j=i=k
m
k
m
j
r
kj

rkj (4.3)

r
i
= G
m
k
r
3
ik
r
ik
+G

j=i=k
m
j
r
ij

rij (4.4)

r
k
= G
m
i
r
3
ki
r
ki
+G

j=i=k
m
j
r
kj

rkj (4.5)
using the following vector rules
r
ik
= r
ki
; r
ki
= r
i
r
k
; r
ij
= r
j
r
i
= r
kj
r
ki
(4.6)
It can be simplied to

r
ki
=

r
i

r
k
= G
m
k
r
3
ik
r
ik
+G

j=i=k
m
j
r
ij

rij G
m
i
r
3
ki
r
ki
G

j=i=k
m
j
r
kj

rkj
= G
m
i
+m
k
r
3
ki
r
ki
+G

j=i=k
m
j
r
kj
r
ki
r
3
ij

r
kj
r
kj
(4.7)
The subscript k can now be dropped because everything is described with respect to k, and the above
mention reference frame is used.
9

r
ki
= G
m
i
+m
k
r
3
i
r
i
+G

j=i=k
m
j
r
j
r
i
r
3
ij

r
j
r
j
(4.8)
Assuming a satellite orbiting the earth the equation can be simplied because m
s
m
E
. The magni-
tude of the main force and the disturbing force can now be written as.
a
m
= G
m
E
r
2
i
(4.9)
a
d
= Gm
d

id
r
3
id

r
j
r
j

(4.10)
= Gm
d

_

id
r
3
id

r
j
r
j
_

_

id
r
3
id

r
j
r
j
_
= Gm
d

id
r
3
id

id
r
3
id
2

id
r
3
id

d
r
3
d

d
r
3
d

d
r
3
d
= Gm
d

r
2
id
r
6
id
+
r
2
d
r
6
d

2r
d
r
id
cos
r
3
d
r
3
id
= Gm
d

1
r
4
id
+
1
r
4
d

2 cos
r
2
d
r
2
id
(4.11)
used geometry rules
a

b = |a||b| cos ; a a = ||a||

2
= |a
2
| ; c
2
= a
2
+b
2
2ab cos (4.12)
Lets introduce = r
i
/r
d
and which is the angle between r
i
and r
d
( is the angle between r
d
and

r
i
d)
r
2
id
= r
2
d
+r
2
i
2r
i
r
d
cos (4.13)
cos =
A
S
=
r
d
r
i
cos
r
id
(4.14)
=
r
i
r
d
(4.15)
a
d
= Gm
d

1
(r
2
d
+r
2
i
2r
i
r
d
cos )
2
+
1
r
4
d

2(r
d
r
i
cos )
r
2
d
r
3
id
= G
m
d
r
2
d

1
(1 +
2
2 cos )
2
+ 1
2(1 cos )
r
5
d
(r
2
d
+r
2
i
+r
d
r
i
cos )
3/2
= G
m
d
r
2
d

1 +
1
(1 2 cos +
2
)
2

2(1 cos )
(1 2 cos +
2
)
3/2
(4.16)
THERE IS AN ERROR SOMEWHERE r
5
d
SHOULD BE r
6
d
In this equation k is the main body with mass m
k
m
i
. is the angle between the vector r
ki
and r
kd
and is the angle between the vector r
kd
and r
di
. (see g 4.2). With this equation it can be
shown that bodies outside the solar system have a negligible inuence on the trajectories around the
sun, and that the planets have a negligible inuence on satellites circling the earth.
When ying further away from a planet the sun will become more dominant in play of forces. At
some point it can not be regarded any more as a disturbing force. The region were it can be regarded
as an disturbing force is called the sphere of inuence of a planet. Beyond this sphere the planet will
become a disturbing force. These sphere is are relatively small. An interplanetary trajectory can be
modeled in three separate parts, making the analysis easier.
10
Chapter 5
Two-body problem
Remember these formulas:
r =
p
(1 +e cos )
(5.1)
p =
H
2

(5.2)
H = r
2
=

r
2
(5.3)
In the pericenter = 0 and in the apocenter = . By dierentiating 5.5 en substitute 5.5 back into its
derivative and substituting 5.3 a simple function for r can be found
2a = r
pericenter
+r
apocenter
= r
=0
+r
=
=
p
(1 +e cos 0)
+
p
(1 +e cos )
=
p
(1 +e)
+
p
(1 e)
=
p +ep +p ep
1
2
+ep ep e
2
=
2p
1 e
2
p = a(1 e
2
) (5.4)
r =
p
(1 +e cos )
=
a(1 e
2
)
(1 +e cos )
=
H
2

(1 +e cos )
(5.5)
r =
dr
dt
=
H
2

((1 +e cos )
2
)(e sin )

=
r
2
H
2

sin = r
2

H
2
e sin =

H
e sin (5.6)
Combining 5.5 and 5.3 gives:
r =
H
2

(1 +e cos )
=
r
2

(1 +e cos )
(5.7)
r

=

H
(1 +e cos ) (5.8)
One can also write the speed in a component which is perpendicular to the radius vector V
n
and a
component which is perpendicular to the axis of symmetry of the conic section. V
l
. (see g 5.8)
V
n
= r

+
r
tan(

2
)
= r

+
r
tan(

2
(

2
))
= r

+
r
tan( )
= r

+
r
tan
(5.9)
=

H
(1 +e cos )

H
e sin
cos
sin
=

H
+

H
e cos

H
e cos =

H
(5.10)
V
l
=
r
cos(

2
)
=
r
sin
=

H
e sin
1
sin
= e

H
(5.11)
Formula 5.6 and 5.8 can be used to make velocity hedographs. For elliptical (e<1), parabolic (e=1) and
hyperbolic (e>1) trajectories dierent speeds are calculated. The pericenter is located at the top, where
the tangential velocity is the largest, the apogee at the bottom. See also g 5.7
11
Ellipse parabola Hyperbola
r r
2

r r
2

r r
2

0 0

H
(1 +e) 0 2

H
0

H
(1 +e)

2
e

H

H
e

H

H
0

H
(1 e) 0 0 0

H
(1 e) < 0
3
2
e

H

H
e

H

H
The Theorem of Whittaker states that at the pericenter V
n
and V
l
have to same direction and can
therefore be added to nd the maximum speed. In the apocenter V
n
is directed in the the opposite way,
and the minimum speed can be obtained by subtracting V
n
from V
l
.
V
p
= V
l
+V
n
= e

H
+

H
=

H
(1 +e) (5.12)
V
a
= V
l
V
n
= e

H


H
=

H
(1 e) (5.13)
5.1 Relativistic eects
With the use of the auxiliary variable u =1/r and some rearranging equation 5.14 can be writtin as eq
5.16
r r
2
=

r
2
(5.14)
u =
1
r
(5.15)
d
2
u
d
2
+u =

H
2
(5.16)
According to general theory of relativity a good approximation for the relativistic motion of a body can
be given by:
d
2
u
d
2
+u =

H
2
+ 3

c
2
u
2
(5.17)
In these equation is the gravitation parameter of the large body, c is the speed of light, u = 1/r and H
is the classical angular momentum. Comparing the two equations it becomes clear that the most right
part of the right hand side of the equations is due to relativity. The right hand side can be rewritten
H = r
2
=
1
u
2
(5.18)

H
2
+ 3

c
2
u
2
=

H
2
_
1 + 3
H
2
u
2
c
2
_
=

H
2
_
1 + 3

2
u
2
c
2
_
=

H
2
_
1 + 3
( r)
2
c
2
_
=

H
2
_
1 + 3
V
2

c
2
_
(5.19)
The relativistic part depends on the ration between the velocity of the body and the speed of light. In
celestical mechanics the speed of the body is much smaller than the speed of light (V

c). Therefore
the ration will be small and therefore the right term will be much smaller than the left term. A rst
order approximation is:
u =

H
2
[1 +e cos ( )] +

2
H
4
_
1 +
1
2
e
2
+esin ( )
1
6
e
2
cos 2( )
_
(5.20)
= 3

c
2
(5.21)
The relativistic part of this equation consist of three parts:
The constant part (1 + 1/2e
2
) which increase the value of u with the constant value
2
(1 +
e
2
/2)/H
2
. Time has no inuence on this part.
esin is a uctuating term, of which the amplitude continuously increases with increasing
values of . Because is the total angle traveled, and this term will become larger in time.
12
1/6e
2
cos 2( ) is a pure oscillation with a constant amplitude.
So in the long run only the second term has inuence and the equation can be simplied:
u =

H
2
[1 +e cos( ) +esin ] (5.22)
=

H
2
= 3
mu
2
c
2
H
2
(5.23)
In celestial mechanics the value of is very small. It is so small that even for large values of the
combination of the two stays small. Therefore the following is valid:
cos 1 : sin (5.24)
With this known equation 5.22 can be even further simplyed:
cos (x y) = cos xcos y + sin xsin y (5.25)
u =

H
2
[1 +e 1 cos( ) +e sin ( )]
=

H
2
[1 +e cos cos ( ) +e sin sin ( )]
=

H
2
[1 +e cos( )] (5.26)
In the cosine the instantaneous argument of the pericenter is given by +. Because this term depends
on the location of the pericenter will change over time. The amount of change after one full rotation,
, can be found by taking 2 for (one full rotation). This gives:
= 2 =

H
2
2 = 6
mu
2
c
2
H
2
(5.27)
When looking to this equation the only term which diers for planets in our solar system is H. Assuming
that the orbits for the planets are more or less circular (P r) one can say that H
2
r which shows
that the relativistic eects is the largest when the planet is closest to the sun, in other words Mercuries.
5.2 Solar radiation pressure
Photons emitted by the sun reect on satellites, losing kinetic energy/ apply a force on the satellite.
This can be modeled as follows:
r r
2
=

r
2
+
F
m
sin (5.28)
d
dt
(r
2
=
F
m
r cos (5.29)
The solar radiation force can be written as
F = C
R
WS
c
(5.30)
C
R
is the reectivity, c is the speed of light, W is the power density of the light falling on the object and
S is the eective surface. Because the surface area of a sphere is 4r
2
the power density dimmished with
a factor r
2
. When the power density at the sun is know (W
S
) the local power density can be found by
multiplying it with R
S
/r where R
S
is the radius of the sun and r is the distance from the center of the
sun to the object. Assuming the object is a perfect sphere, the eective area is a circle with a surface of
R
2
and a mass of 4/3R
3
. This gives:
F
m
= C
R
W
S
(
R
S
r
)
2
1
c
R
2
1
4/3R
3

=
3
4
C
R
W
S
R
2
S
cR
1
r
2
=

r
2
(5.31)
13
Because the body has a radial velocity component with respect to the sun, the frequency of the light is
shifted because of the Doppler eect. The power density is linear with the frequency (a lower frequency
means that the photons have less energy, so produce a smaller force) Therefore:
v

= v(1
r
c
) (5.32)
W

= W(1
r
c
) (5.33)
Furthermore because also light needs time to travel the distance between the sun and the object, the
object already has rotated and it appears that the light comes more from the front.
t =
r
c
(5.34)
= t =
r
c
(5.35)
A bit of geometry and because is very small (small angle approach)
sin = sin(

2
+) = cos 1 ; cos = cos(

2
+) = sin = (5.36)
Substituting these answers back into 5.28 gives:
r r
2
=

r
2
+

r
2
_
1
r
c
_
(5.37)
d
dt
(r
2
= r

r
2
_
1
r
c
_
r
c
(5.38)
Rewriting and neglecting second order terms (c
2
)
r r
2
=

r
2

r
cr
2
(5.39)
d
dt
(r
2
=

c
(5.40)
A couple of things can be noticed here. All particle will be slowed down because of equation 5.40. Due
to this drag force the object will spiral down in the direction of the sun. Equation 5.39 can be even
further simplied by neglected the second term.
r r
2
=

r
2
_
1

_
=

r
2
(1 ). (5.41)
For the right values of / ( > 1) particles will not spiral inwards but will be blown out of the solar
system. When taking a closer look to denition of one can see that small, low density, high reectivity
particles will have larger forces applied to them. This is why our sun is bright and not hazy because all
dust is blown away.
14
Chapter 6
Parabolic and hyperbolic orbits
The motion of a satellite in an elliptical orbit can be described with:
r = a(1 e cos E) ; tan

2
=
_
1 +e
1 e
tan
E
2
; E e sin E = n(t ) = M (6.1)
For a hyperbolic orbit:
r = a(1 e cosh F) ; tan

2
=
_
1 +e
1 e
tanh
F
2
; e sinh F F = n(t ) =

M (6.2)
In these equations r is the radius, a is the semi-major axis, e is the eccentricity, is the true anomaly,
E is the eccentric anomaly, F is the hyperbolic anomaly, n is the mean angular motion, n is an angular
velocity, t is the time, is the time of (last) pericenter passage, M is the mean anomaly and

M is also
a kind of mean anomaly. see g 6.7 and 8.1
n =
T
2
=

a
3
; n =
T
2
=

a
3
(6.3)
To demonstrate how these equations work, the calculation of the orbital period T and the position (
and r) are calculated for a satellite orbiting the Earth in an orbit with e=0.05 and a perigee altitude of
h
p
= 500 km after 60 minutes. Furthermore given is that = 398600.4 km
3
/s
2
and R = 6378.14 km.
15
r =
a(1 e
2
)
1 +e cos
(6.4)
a =
r(1 +e cos )
1 e
2
=
(500 + 6378.14)(1 + 0.05 cos 0)
1 + 0.05
2
= 7204.036908 Km (6.5)
T = 2

a
3

= 2
_
7204
3
398600.4
= 6085 s (6.6)
n =
_

a
3
=
_
398600.4
7204
3
= 0.0010325355 s
1
(6.7)
t = 60 60 = 3600 < 6085 = 0 (6.8)
M = n(t ) = 0.0010325355(3600 0) = 3.717127 (6.9)
E
k=0
= M = 3.68935344 (6.10)
E
k+1
= M +e sin E
k
(6.11)
E
1
= 3.717127 + 0.05 sin 3.717127 = 3.689913439 (6.12)
E
2
= 3.717127 + 0.05 sin 3.689913439 = 3.691064876 (6.13)
E
3
= 3.717127 + 0.05 sin 3.691064876 = 3.691015761 (6.14)
E
4
= 3.717127 + 0.05 sin 3.691015761 = 3.691017855 (6.15)
r = a(1 e cos E) = 7204.036908(1 0.05 cos 3.691017855) = 7511.225Km (6.16)
= 2 arctan
_
_
1 + 0.05
1 0.05
tan
3.691017855
2
_
= 2.62 (6.17)
=
+ 2.64

180 = 330

(6.18)
As can be seen in the above example, the eccentric anomaly is found with an iterative process (you van
also plot two lines with your GRM and nd the intersection). For elliptical trajectories is possible to nd
an analytical approximation by using a series expension. For the hyperbolic case this can not be done
because these series do not converge because 1 > e > and because the function sinhF and

M F are
non-periodic.
Hyperbolic problems can be solved numerical or graphical. A graphical method is to plot the func-
tion sinhF and the linear function (F +

M)/e. The intersection of the two is the solution. The linear
function can be plotted by drawing a line through (

M,0) and (

M +e),1), or use a GRM.
16