Intermediary LEO propagation including higher order zonal harmonics

Abstract

Two new intermediary orbits of the artificial satellite problem are proposed. The analytical solutions include higher order effects of the Geopotential, and are obtained by means of a torsion transformation applied to the quasi-Keplerian system resulting after the elimination of the parallax simplification, for the first intermediary, and after the elimination of the parallax and perigee simplifications, for the second one. The new intermediaries perform notably well for low earth orbits propagation, are free from special functions, and result advantageous, both in accuracy and efficiency, when compared to the standard Cowell integration of the J2 problem, thus providing appealing alternatives for onboard, short-term, orbit propagation under limited computational resources.

Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical Astronomy: Accepted September 25, 2016

References in corpus (4)

• Delaunay variables approach to the elimination of the perigee
• LEO intermediary propagation as a feasible alternative to Brouwer's gravity solution
• Efficient formulation of the periodic corrections in Brouwer's gravity solution
• On Inclination Resonances in Artificial Satellite Theory

Cited by in corpus (4)

• HEOSAT: A mean elements orbit propagator program for Highly Elliptical Orbits
• Solution to the main problem of the artificial satellite by reverse normalization
• A new radial, natural, higher order intermediary of the main problem four decades after the elimination of the parallax
• A torsion-based solution to the hyperbolic regime of the J2-problem