Related papers: Orbital decay in the classroom
Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites are crucial for communications, navigation, and Earth observation. However, their operational lifetimes are strongly influenced by orbital decay due to atmospheric drag. This work presents a simplified…
The exponential rise in small-satellites and CubeSats in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) poses important challenges for future space traffic management. At altitudes of 600 km and lower, aerodynamic drag accelerates de-orbiting of satellites.…
The nearby space surrounding the Earth is densely populated by artificial satellites and instruments, whose orbits are distributed within the Low-Earth-Orbit region (LEO), ranging between 90 and 2 000 $km$ of altitude. As a consequence of…
The equations governing motion of the satellite under the effect of oblateness of Earth and atmospheric drag have been simulated, for a fixed initial position and three different initial velocities, till satellite collapses on Earth.…
Recent works demonstrated that the dynamics caused by the planetary oblateness coupled with the solar radiation pressure can be described through a model based on singly-averaged equations of motion. The coupled perturbations affect the…
We analyse a simple model of the heat transfer to and from a small satellite orbiting round a solar system planet. Our approach considers the satellite isothermal, with external heat input from the environment and from internal energy…
The orbital decay of a perturber within a larger system plays a key role in the dynamics of many astrophysical systems -- from nuclear star clusters or globular clusters in galaxies, to massive black holes in galactic nuclei, to dwarf…
The increasing threat raised by space debris led to the development of different mathematical models and approaches to investigate the dynamics of small particles orbiting around the Earth. Such models and methods strongly depend on the…
We study the dynamics of an elastic body whose shape and position evolve due to the gravitational forces exerted by a pointlike planet. The main result is that, if all the deformations of the satellite dissipate some energy, then under a…
Orbital debris is a pressing problem which presents a danger to global space operations and a barrier to continued development of the space economy and space infrastructure. As research continues regarding orbital debris, there is a need…
In nominal mission scenarios, geostationary satellites perform end-of-life orbit maneuvers to reach suitable disposal orbits, where they do not interfere with operational satellites. This research investigates the long-term orbit evolution…
We study the dynamical evolution of a satellite orbiting outside of a companion spherical galaxy. The satellite is subject to a back-reaction force resulting from the density fluctuations excited in the primary stellar system. We evaluate…
In this work the orbital dynamics of Earth satellites about the geosynchronous altitude are explored, with primary goal to assess current mitigation guidelines as well as to discuss the future exploitation of the region. A thorough…
Low Earth orbits (LEO) are known as a region of high space activity and, consequently, space debris highest density. Launcher upper stages and defunct satellites are the largest space debris objects, whose collisions can result in still…
The orbital dynamics of most planetary satellites is governed by the quadrupole moment from the equatorial bulge of the host planet and the tidal field from the Sun. On the Laplace surface, the long-term orbital evolution driven by the…
Energetic events on the Sun, particularly coronal mass ejections and high speed streams, regulate the near Earth space environment and give rise to space weather. A major terrestrial manifestation of such events are geomagnetic storms. A…
In this paper, we consider a satellite orbiting in a Manev gravitational potential under the influence of an atmospheric drag force that varies with the square of velocity. Using an exponential atmosphere that varies with the orbital…
Motion of stellar-mass satellites is studied around a massive compact body which is surrounded by a gaseous slab of a stationary accretion disc. The satellites suffer an orbital decay due to hydrodynamical interaction with the disc medium…
Small-satellites and CubeSats offer a low-cost pathway to access Low Earth Orbit at altitudes of 450 km and lower thanks to miniaturization and advancement in reliability of commercial electronics. However, at these low altitudes,…
In this work, the orbital evolution of these objects that are located in the geostationary orbit (GEO) is analyzed. Knowing this, the possibility of using a solar sail is considered to help to clean the space environment. The main natural…