CAP – Intro To Space Course Teaching Guide

Orbital Mechanics

INTRODUCTION (10 min)

ATTENTION:

Patriot Games (Show Patriots Games movie clip)

MOTIVATION:
So, do you believe that the bad guys have a better idea of our capabilities than we do? Let's put it this way:
Do you understand why the bad guys only had to take cover during certain periods of the day? Could you
explain it?
For instance, could we place a reconnaissance satellite in an orbit that would give us continuous coverage?
What kinds of things do we need to know to answer this question? 1) The kind of resolution we need 2)
The kind of orbit that can give us continuous coverage. So, what kind of orbit? Geosynchronous. What
does that mean? Why would it give us continuous coverage? What are the disadvantages to such an orbit?
These are the kind of things that this class will tell you.
Although "Hollywood-ized" it is clear from the clip that there are definite tactical advantages to
understanding our space assets.
This presentation is the first part of Civil Air Patrol’s Intro to Space Course. It is designed to give you an
understanding of the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of satellites and their orbits.
Understanding orbital mechanics is critical to understanding the capabilities of satellites we have in space
today.

PP Slide 1
PP Slide 2
PP Slide 3
PP Slide 4

OVERVIEW:

a. Without reference, summarize the principles of orbital mechanics, IAW course

standards.
(1) Summarize the origins of orbital mechanics.
(2) Explain the physical laws associated with orbital mechanics
(3) Outline the requirements for orbit injection.
(4) Define three ways in which orbits may be classified.
(6) Define the six orbital elements.
(7) Explain satellite ground traces and recall factors that affect them.
(8) Give five examples of commonly experienced perturbations.
(9) Identify 2 launch considerations.
(10) Describe reasons for, types, and methods of orbital maneuvers.
(11) Distinguish between deorbit and decay.

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Orbital Mechanics

TRANSITION:
Where did it all begin?
BODY (3 hrs 40 mi)

PRESENTATION.
PP Slide 5
(1) Summarize the origins of orbital mechanics.
Man has always sought some way to explain the
heavens ad the earth. Whether we believe in divine
origins or some other form of creation we all
acknowledge governing laws or forces

Historically speaking these laws often only partially

could and sometimes completely inaccurate While
the ancient Greeks and Chinese were able to
accurately predict planetary motion and celestial
phenomena through extremely accurate observations
and fanciful explanations, it was not until
Copernicus that modem Astronomy finally found
some roots in reality.
a) Nicholas Copernicus PP Slide 6

1) Polish monk who wrote On the Revolutions-of

the Celestial Spheres in 1543

2) Revived the previously proposed heliocentric

model

3) Believed orbits were circles whose center were

displaced from the center of the sun
b) Tycho Brahe PP Slide 7

1) A son of Danish nobility and a mentor to Tycho guarded his data jealously and was in this
Johannes Kepler way able to keep Johannes as his lackey.

2) Introduced precision into astronomical

measurement through meticulous observation of
the celestial bodies
c) Johannes Kepler PP Slide 8

Said of his mentor, " Tycho is superlatively rich, but

1) German mathematician knows not how to make proper use of it, which is
the case with most rich people. One must try to
wrest his riches from him."
2) Theories were as inaccurate as his Johannes proposed that the orbits of the planets
predecessors but observed three laws for which were inscribed within spheres which enclosed
he is remembered. perfect solids. Perfect solids are structures whose
faces are identical and regular polygons.

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Orbital Mechanics

(2) Explain the physical laws associated with orbital PP Slide 9

mechanics.

a) Kepler's 1st Law (Law of Ellipses): The orbits of PP Slide 10

the planets are ellipses with the sun at one focus
So what does that mean? Okay, let's pull out our
geometry hats.

PP Slide 11

Orbital Vocabulary

PP Slide 12

Even the orbit of a ballistic missile is an ellipse,

with the center of the Earth as one focus. (ooh, ahh)
b) Kepler's 2nd Law (Law of Equal Areas) The line PP Slide 13, 14, 15
joining the planet to the center of the sun sweeps out
equal areas in equal times. This is fairly easy to visualize for a circular orbit,
but for an elliptical orbit, things are slightly more
1) Implies that satellites travel at varying speeds difficult to see.
during completion of their orbits

c) Kepler's 3rd Law (Law of Harmonics) The squares PP Slide 16

of the periods of revolution for any two planets are to
each other as the cubes of their mean distances from Huh? All this is saying is that orbits that have the
the Sun. same semi-major axis will have the same period.
This was the first correlation between the size of an
orbit and its period.
Pretty good for an egghead who was always getting
beaten up. Although Kepler had made these
observations, it wasn't until Sir Isaac Newton came
along that these theories were explained in a
consistent and proven way.
d) Sir Isaac Newton PP Slide 17

1) Law of Inertia - Every body continues in a state of PP Slide 18

uniform motion in a straight line, unless it is
compelled to change that state by a force impressed
upon it

2) Law of Momentum - When a force is applied to a PP Slide 19

body, the time rate of change of momentum is directly F=ma
proportional to and in the direction of the force
applied

3) Law of Action-Reaction - For every action there is PP Slide 20

an equal and opposite reaction

4) Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation -Every PP Slide 21

particle in the universe attracts every other particle
with a force proportional to their masses and the Earth as a point mass: All mass focused at Earth's
distances between them. center. Therefore, any orbital plane must intersect
this point

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Orbital Mechanics

Through this law, Newton was able to explain all of

Kepler's previous observations So why do we care?
We care because Newton's law applies to orbital
motion - motion of both planets and man made
satellites. This is what we'll be talking about next.
Any questions?
(3) Outline the requirements for orbit injection. PP Slide 22

Before we talk about orbits in more depth, we're

going to cover how to get something into orbit in
the first place.

PP Slide 23

This picture is a representation of a ball being

thrown at varying speeds. If we just drop the ball, it
will simply fall the 5m. If we threw the ball with a
little bit of horizontal velocity, it will fall 5m down
and a couple meters over.
a) Speed PP Slide 24

1) If ball is thrown with enough of a horizontal In other words, at the Earth's surface, if for every 5
velocity component, the Earth "falls" away from the meters the ball falls, it travels 8 kilometers across, it
ball as fast as the ball drops towards it. will never hit the Earth. Thus, speed is major
requirement for orbit insertion.

2) Speed required depends on height PP Slide 25

So, do we need more speed or less speed the higher

we are? Why?
b) Height PP Slide 26

1) From Newton's Law of Gravitation, the force For a circular orbit the higher your altitude, the
between two objects decreases as the distance lower the required velocity. The other types of
between them increases. orbits shown also require a specific velocity for that
altitude.

2) Hence, the greater the altitude the slower the fall. PP Slide 27
Less horizontal travel and therefore velocity is
required. You can see here that general trend for required
velocities at a given altitude.

PP Slide 28

A final aspect to consider when trying to insert an

object into a given orbit is the direction you're
going to launch in. Does anyone have any idea
why?
c) Direction PP Slide 29

1) Prograde (east-wardly traveling) orbits require

less velocity than retrograde (westerly traveling)
orbits.

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Orbital Mechanics

2) Retrograde orbits must overcome the velocity With this in mind, do you think it matters where we
associated with the rotation of the Earth. launch from, an addition to the direction we launch
in? Think about velocities at the poles versus
velocities at the equator.

PP Slide 30

Interim Summary
When we come back from a break we'll talk about
the various types of orbits.
BREAK!!!!! BREAK!!
PP Slide 31

(4) Define three ways in which orbits may be classified. This next section is really to just familiarize you
with the terminology you might hear when folks
talk about orbits

a) Size/Period. PP Slide 32
Remember, what did Kepler say in his third law?
1) Defined by semi-major or axis
2) Low Earth Orbit (100 - 500 miles)
3) High Earth Orbit (10,000 - 30,000 miles)
4) Semi-synchronous Orbit (12 hr period)
5) Geo-synchronous Orbit (24 hr period)

b) Location PP Slide 33

1) Equatorial
2) Polar

c) Shape PP Slide 34

All satellite orbits/trajectories may described by

using conic sections. The two orbits can be
described as circular or elliptical.

PP Slide 35

The two trajectories en be described a parabolic

hyperbolic

1) Circular Orbit PP Slide 36

a) Characteristics The majority of all existing manmade satellites are

in a circular orbit.
1) Constant Speed
2) Constant altitude
b) Typical Missions

1) Reconnaissance/Weather (DMSP)
2) Manned
3) Navigational (GPS)
4) Communications (DSCS 3)

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Orbital Mechanics

2) Elliptical Orbit PP Slide 37

a) Characteristics

1) Varying speeds
2) Varying altitudes
3) Asymmetric ground track
b) Typical missions

1) Deep space surveillance (Pioneer)

2) Communications (Polar)
3) Ballistic Missiles
3) Parabolic/Hyperbolic Trajectory PP Slide 38
a) Characteristics

1) Escaped Earth’s gravitational influence

2) Heliocentric
b) Typical missions There is another way to describe these orbits, and
that’s what I’ll be going into next. To do that, we’ll
1) Interplanetary exploration (Galileo, have to define some terms.
Phobos, Magellan)

d) Orbital Geometry PP Slide 39

1) Semi-Major axis – Half of the maximum
diameter I know this looks like a pain, but these are the types
of terms you’re going to be hearing when some
space operator are talking about an orbit.
2) Semi-Minor axis – Half of the minimum
diameter
3) Linear eccentricity - Half the distance between
the foci
4) Eccentricity - The ratio of the linear eccentricity
to the semi-major axis
5) Apogee/Perigee - Points farthest from and
nearest to the Earth The ones that are important to remember are the last
three: eccentricity, apogee, and perigee.
PP Slide 40

This slide shows how the conic sections can be

described by eccentricity. Remember we said that
all orbits are conic sections. Therefore, in
defining eccentricity, you're defining orbit shape.
How is it that a circle has an eccentricity of 0?
PP Slide 41

This slide might help you see how that works.

Most manmade satellite have orbital eccentricities
of 0.1 or less. This means they're fairly circular.
PP Slide 42

These are the various orbital shapes you might get

for the eccentricities listed.

BREAK!!! PP Slide 43 Break!!!!!

50 MINUTE MARK

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Orbital Mechanics

(5) Describe the various types of coordinate reference PP Slide 44

systems.
What we'll talk about next is coordinate reference
systems. If I said I was from Mililani Town, how
many of you would know where I was talking
about? How about if I said Mililani was in the
a) Purpose county of Honolulu?

1) Defines positions and directions in a consistent

manner, hence allows communication

2) In terms of space

a) Defines where satellite is

b) Defines where satellite is going
What does this mean? How about if I was trying to
3) Usefulness depends on type selected tell you how to get to McDonalds. Would it be
better to use N, S, E and W or longitude and
latitude? To pick the most suitable reference system,
we need to know what types there are.

Here's another example of some folks who probably

should have used a different coordinate reference
system.
(Aliens clip)
b) Ordinates PP Slide 45

1) Origin - Where you're starting from

McDonalds. Example: Origin: Here FP: Earth's
2) Fundamental Plane - The plane which you're surface (it's flat, didn't you know?) PD: North. By
measuring in using these three ordinates, we could tell someone
how to get to McDonalds.
3) Principle Direction - The direction which you're
measuring from
c) Types of Coordinate Reference Systems PP Slide 46
1) Inertial

a) Non-rotating
b) Time independent
Using McDonalds, we defined our own reference
2) Non-inertial system, but there are an infinite number out there.
Here's a few you'll commonly see in the space
a) Rotating world.
b) Time Dependent
d) Examples PP Slide 47

1) Geographic PP Slide 48

a) Type - Non-inertial
b) Purpose - To locate points on the
Earth's surface
c) Measurements
1) Latitude
2) Longitude

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2) Topocentric PP Slide 49

a) Type - Non-inertial This will tell us where a satellite is on space, BUT

b) Purpose - To locate a satellite with respect to only with respect to a specific tracking station. If we
a tracking station were at Hula, and we had info for Pike, we would
c) Measurements NOT be able to find the satellite.

1) Elevation - Angle between the plane of the PP Slide 50

Earth's surface and the line connecting site to
satellite

2) Azimuth - Angle between true north and PP Slide 51

elevation plane, measured clockwise

3) Range - Distance from Earth's Surface to

satellite
Mention tracking data
3) Geocentric Inertial PP Slide 52
a) Type- Inertial Duh.

1) Origin - Earth's center

2) Fundamental Plane- Equatorial Plane

3) Principle Direction - Vernal Equinox Who?

a) Line formed by the intersection of the
Equatorial plane and the Earth's orbital AKA the First Point of Aries. Constellation
Plane which it was pointing to when the reference
system was developed. "Was", because this line
is actually shifting. So kind of inertial. Right
now, the line is leaving Pisces and starting to
point towards Aquarius. (Hence that hippie-reject
type song about the Dawning of the Age of
Aquarius.)

b) Purpose
1) To determine the exact orientation of an Clearly, this is useful to us for determining where
orbital plane and to locate points in space satellites are.
with respect to the Earth
c) Measurements
1) Declination - Angle between the PP Slide 53
fundamental plane and the satellite's orbital
plane. We generally call this inclination
PP Slide 54
2) Right Ascension

a) Ascending node - Point where satellite Remember that S to N bit. There are two times
crosses the equatorial plane going from when the satellite can cross the orbital plane, but
south to north. only one time when it will go from S to N

b) Right Ascension of the ascending node

- The angle measured within the
equatorial plane From the principle
direction to the ascending node
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Orbital Mechanics

4) Orbit Inertial PP Slide 55

a) Type - Inertial
b) Purpose - To locate the exact position of a So with the geocentric system, we defined what the
satellite within its orbit at any time satellite's orbit was. With this system we define
WHERE in its orbit the satellite is.

c) Measurements These last two are the main reference systems you
should try to be familiar with.
1) Argument of Perigee - Angle from the
ascending node to perigee measured within
the orbital plane in the direction of satellite
travel
PP Slide 56

Review
PP Slide 57

Review
PP Slide 58

So we've talked about a few reference systems, and

believe it or not, in doing so, we've talked
about 5 of the 6 orbital elements we need to define
where a satellite is in space. We said earlier that
given three values, Azimuth, Elevation and range,
we could define where a satellite was at a particular
time. If we wanted to define the satellite's position
at any point in time, we would need 6 ordinates, 3
for position and 3 to describe the velocity vector.
(6) Define the six orbital elements
a) Definition - A set of mathematical parameters that PP Slide 59
enables us to accurately describe satellite motion
b)Purpose PP Slide 60

1) Discriminates one satellite from other satellites

2) Predicts where a satellite will be in the future or

has been in the past

3) Determines necessary distance and direction of

maneuver or effect of perturbation
c) Keplerian Elements PP Slide 61
Now I know you remember what the first two are.
1) Semi-Major or Axis - Size How about the rest?

2) Eccentricity - Shape

3) Inclination - Tilt of orbital plane as measured PP Slide 62

counter-clockwise from the equatorial plane at the
ascending node

4) Right Ascension of the ascending node -The PP Slide 63

angle measured within the equatorial plane from You can think of this as swivel
the principle direction to the ascending nod

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5) Argument of Perigee - Angle from the PP Slide 64

ascending node to perigee measured within the
orbital plane in the direction of satellite travel

6) True Anomaly - Angle measured from perigee PP Slide 65

to satellite within orbital plane in the direction of
satellite motion (time dependent) This is what true anomaly looks like in the orbital
plane

PP Slide 66
7) Epoch Time - Time when true anomaly was Time of perigee passing
measured By using these 6 elements and epoch time, we have
completely defined the satellite's orbit and its
position.
d) Examples
PP Slide 67

These are some of the orbits you can get just by

changing inclination.
This completes the first portion of the Orbital Mechanics
lesson plan. PP Slide 68

Interim Summary

BREAK!!! BREAK!!!

BREAK!! This completes the Day One portion of the lesson

PP Slide 1
Welcome to Day Two of the Orbital Mechanics lesson
plan!!

We will pick right where we left off.

These are the topics that will be covered today.

(1) Explain satellite ground traces and recall factors that

affect them.
a) Definition PP Slide 2

1) Subpoint - Point on the Earth's surface defined

by an imaginary line connecting the satellite and
the Earth's center

2) Ground track is trace of subpoints over time. Starting simply, you can see that if the Earth does
not rotate, the satellite ground track would be the
same for any coplanar orbits. In other words,
assuming inclination remained the same the other
five orbital elements would have no impact on the
ground track. (Go through various elements)
Unfortunately, the Earth does rotate, and thus we
must take the other elements into account.
b) Factors affecting ground traces PP Slide 3

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1) Period PP Slide 4

For a non-rotating Earth, the ground track of a

satellite is a great circle.
Since the earth is spinning, and the satellite orbits
the earth, the period of both affects the ground track.
a) Period defines the westward regression of the PP Slide 5
ground track.

b) Because Earth is rotating east under the PP Slide 6

satellite, the satellite track appears to "walk" You can see from the slide that the westward
west regression is 30*. Because we know that the Earth
rotates 360* in 24 hrs, we know that it goes through
15* each hour. A regression of 30* or 2 times 15*
implies a 120 minute orbit (every 2 hours!)

2) Eccentricity PP Slide 7
In addition, ground track will be asymmetrical
a) In a highly eccentric orbit, the satellite will
be moving much faster at perigee than at
apogee

b) Satellite will appear to hang over Earth at PP Slide 8

apogee, but will move faster than Earth at
perigee
3) Inclination Angle PP Slide 9

a) Defines maximum latitude, North and South PP Slide 10

that ground track will reach
There are special considerations for
synchronous or polar orbits-- they will cover all
Lat/Longs!

b) For a 45* inclined orbit, maximum latitude

will be 45* N and 45* S
4) Argument of Perigee PP Slide 11

a) Establishes longitude of perigee and apogee PP Slide 12

Through these five parameters, we can create almost
any ground track we want. This is the key to the
capabilities of our space assets.

5) Injection Point PP Slide 13

a) Assuming no maneuvers after launch, launch

sites will determine inclination

b) Injection point will determine where ground

track will start
c) Theory PP Slide 14

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1) Understanding ground tracks helps determine Let's think about this a bit. If the injection site is
the best orbit to maximize satellite mission above the Indian Ocean, and the orbital period is 1
effectiveness hr, the satellite will pass back over IOS exactly 24
revolutions later. However, if its period is not
2) Will also help to determine enemy capabilities exactly divisible into 24hrs, the satellite might not
pass over IOS for several more days.

d) Examples PP Slide 15

1) Geostationary Orbit This is was we saw in Patriot Games. The enemies

were using their knowledge of our satellite ground
a) Single dot tracks against us. We can see how to pick a satellite
orbit depending on its mission by looking at the
various ground tracks for some common orbits.

2) Geosynchronous Orbit As the satellite starts to move up from the ascending

node a component of velocity is directed upward.
a) Figure eight This causes the horizontal velocity to be decreased
and the satellite to "fall behind" the Earth. At the
1) Inclination causes satellite speed to vary satellite approaches its highest orbital point it begins
with respect to Earth's rotational speed; to "catch up" to the Earth and eventually overtake it.
hence the figure 8 As the satellite descends, again a component of its
velocity is now directed downwards, again taking
2) Equator is crossed from east to west away from its horizontal motion. The satellite
ground track passes through the descending node at
the equator and thus completes the top loop of the 8.
Similarly the bottom loop is completed.

3) Molnyia Orbit Where's apogee? Perigee?

a) Semi-synchronous orbit-> Exactly 180* of

westward regression
Molnyia in Russian means lightning. This describes
b) Eccentricity causes asymmetrical ground its motion near perigee. At apogee, you get "hang
track time." You can see that this would be a good way to
provide polar comm. Note that you could choose to
c) Speed at perigee causes satellite to cover place apogee over the south. Of course those
more ground, therefore, want to place apogee penguins would really appreciate CNN.
over area of interest
4) LEO, retrograde What kind of orbital elements are we talking about
here?
a) Westward regression ~22* This implies what kind of period?

b) Symmetrical Circular orbit

c) Ground track traces from right to left Note that even though we're moving in a different
direction from the other tracks we've talked about
we still have westward regression
5) Polar Note that all orbits intersect at the poles

a) Track appears to “fall off” of map

b) Through a given number of revolution, all of PP Slide 16

the areas Earth will be covered
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Any questions on ground tracks? Interim summary.

50 MINUTE MARK

(2) Give five examples of commonly experienced PP Slide 17

perturbations

a) Gravitational Perturbations - Earth's asymmetrical PP Slide 18

mass causes a non-central gravitational pull Mass asymmetry is also known as the J2 effect

1) Nodal Regression PP Slide 19

a) Ascending node regresses to the west for

prograde orbits, to the east for retrograde orbits PP Slide 20

b) Sun Synchronous Orbits

PP Slide 21
1) Takes advantage of nodal regression to
keep orbit regressing approximately 1* per
day

2) Ensures constant sun angle which is

beneficial to reconnaissance missions

3) Can be fixed such that satellite will pass

over the same area on the Earth at the same
time every day
2) Apsidal Line Rotation PP Slide 22
a = 1044 mi +rE => T = 2 hrs
a) Line of Apsides is the line connecting e=0
apogee and perigee i = ~102*
Omega=0

b) Makes the orbit rotate in its orbital Obviously this only applies to elliptical orbits
plane

1) 0* < i < 63.4*, 116.6* < I < 360* ,

eastward rotation

2) 63.4* < i < 116.6 , westward rotation

3) 63.4*, 116.6* stable This is why all Molnyia orbits have an inclination of
63.4*
3) Libration - Ellipticity of the Earth causes PP Slide 23
gravity wells and hills

a) Stable points: 75'E, 105*W

b) Unstable points: 165-E, 5-W This perturbation mostly affects equatorial orbits,
and therefore comm sats. Stationkeeping is required
to keep the birds within certain longitudes. (discuss
stationkeeping)
b) Atmospheric Drag -Drag caused by the collision of PP Slide 24
spacecraft with particles in the atmosphere
Remember from Aerospace education, how many
parts of the atmosphere are there?
Where does the atmosphere “end”?

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1) Drag causes satellite to lose velocity and So when is drag going to be more of a problem? At
therefore lowers altitude and increases eccentricity apogee or perigee?

2) Greatest drag is experienced at perigee where PP Slide 25

satellite is closest to the Earth Eventually atmospheric drag can decay a satellite's
orbit to the point where re-entry occurs
c) Third Body Effects PP Slide 26

1) The gravitational effects of other massive

bodies, such as the sun and the moon

2) More significant effects on deep space orbits

d) Solar Wind/Radiation Effects PP Slide 27

1) Solar wind affects satellites like regular winds

affect ships

2) Effects are similar to atmospheric drag

3) Effects are more pronounced on satellites with UHF F/O uses the solar wind to provide attitude
large, flat surface areas control
e) Electro-magnetic PP Slide 28

Interaction between the Earth's magnetic field and

the satellite's electromagnetic field results in
magnetic drag

(3) Identify 2 launch considerations PP Slide 29

We will now talk launch considerations
a) Launch Windows PP Slide 30
PP Slide 31
1) Period of time during which a satellite can be
launched directly into a specific orbital plane from A launch window can be as small as five minutes or
a specific launch site as large as 2 hrs. In reality, though, you don't wait
for the optimal time to fire. You start trying as soon
2) Driven by safety, minimum fuel requirements, as your window opens.
desired injection points, hardware capabilities

3) Will be centered around an optimal time

4) Opportunities to launch DIRECTLY into orbit PP Slide 32

a) 2 per day of latitude of launch site is less
than orbit's inclination

b) 1 per day if latitude is equal to inclination

C) None if latitude is greater than inclination

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b) Azimuth vs. Inclination PP Slide 33

Note that combined with the launch opportunities
1) By launching due East, or on an Azimuth of this means that the minimum inclination you can
90*, you can achieve an inclination equivalent to ever achieve a direct launch into is equivalent to the
that of the launch site latitude of your launch site. All other inclinations
must be greater
2) Proper injection at launch minimizes future
plane change requirements

3) Various factors affect how launch are selected

a) US will not launch over populated areas

b) Launching near the equator gives an initial

velocity boost

1) Good for low inclination prograde orbits

2) Bad for retrograde orbits

(4) Describe the reasons for, types and methods of orbital PP Slide 34
maneuvers We will now talk about the types of orbital
maneuvers

a) Why do them PP Slide 35

1) Maneuver to higher orbit PP Slide 36

a) Increase satellite field of view

b) Counteract atmospheric effects

c) Achieve proper area of coverage

2) Maneuver to lower orbit

a) Increase imaging resolution

b) Satellite rendezvous

c) De-orbit
b) Type of maneuvers PP Slide 37
1) In-plane

a) Change in size/period

b) Change in argument of perigee

c) Change in true anomaly

2) Out-of-plane

a) Change in inclination

b) Change in Right Ascension of ascending

node

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c) In-plane maneuver methods PP Slide 38

1) Hohmann Transfer

a) Can be used to change altitudes in

either direction

b) Most efficient

c) Requires completion of one half

revolution in transfer orbit

d) Method

1) Determine target orbit

2) The transfer orbit is a more elliptical

orbit in the same plane with its perigee
in the initial orbit and its apogee, in PP Slide 39
target orbit

3) To increase altitude, a positive burn,

or delta-v is accomplished at perigee to
kick satellite into transfer orbit

4) A secondary burn is accomplished at

apogee to circularize orbit to final,
target orbit In the real world we wait for several revolutions in
the transfer orbit before we do another bum. This is
5) To decrease altitude, a negative so that we sure we have nailed down our orbit
delta-v at apogee, then perigee is before burning into another one.
accomplished
2) Fast transfer PP Slide 40
a) Does not require set amount of time
b) Highly inefficient
c) Prone to error
d) Driven by time constraints
e) Method PP Slide 41

1) After target orbit is determined, a delta-v

of sufficient magnitude to result in
intersection with the target orbit is
accomplished at any arbitrary point in the
initial orbit

2) As soon as the transfer orbit path crosses

the target orbit, another delta-v is performed
to realign the satellite into desired orbit.
(5) Distinguish between deorbit and decay PP Slide 42
Our last topic we will cover concerns de-orbit and
decay

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 CAP – Intro To Space Course Teaching Guide
Orbital Mechanics

a) De-orbit -Controlled re-entry to a specific location

PP Slide 43
This is a dumb, really inefficient way of changing
orbits.
1) Used to move satellites out of desireable orbits

2) Used to recover manned capsules Discuss altitude and requirements for burning.
b) Decay - Uncontrolled re-entry

1) Potential impact anywhere along ground track

2) Tracking Impact Prediction (TIP) generated by

CMAFB to warn possible victims PP Slide 44

TRANSITION:
Are there any questions?
CONCLUSION (10 min)
SUMMARY:
(1) Summarize the origins of orbital mechanics.
(2) Explain the physical laws associated with orbital mechanics
(3) Outline the requirements for orbit injection.
(4) Define three ways in which orbits may be classified
(5) Describe the various type of coordinate reference systems.
(6) Define the six orbital elements.
(7) Explain satellite ground traces and recall factors that affect them.
(8) Give five examples of commonly experienced perturbations
(9) Identify 2 launch considerations
(10) Describe the reasons for, type and methods of orbital maneuvers
(11) Distinguish between deorbit and decay

PP Slide 45

We will now take a break!!

In the next part of the course, we will use the Satellite Tool Kit application to help visually
demonstrate some of the concepts you have just learned.

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