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Orbital elements are the parameters required to uniquely identify a specific orbit. In celestial mechanics these elements are considered in two-body systems using a Kepler orbit . There are many different ways to mathematically describe the same orbit, but certain schemes, each consisting of a set of six parameters, are commonly used in ...
For Earth orbiting satellites below the height of about 800 km, the atmospheric drag is the major orbit perturbing force out of all non-gravitational forces. [11] Above 800 km, solar radiation pressure causes the largest orbital perturbations. [12]
The point towards which the Earth in its solar orbit is directed at any given instant is known as the "apex of the Earth's way". [4] [5] From a vantage point above the north pole of either the Sun or Earth, Earth would appear to revolve in a counterclockwise direction around the Sun. From the same vantage point, both the Earth and the Sun would ...
Because even satellites in low Earth orbit experience significant perturbations from non-spherical Earth's figure, solar radiation pressure, lunar tide, and atmospheric drag, the Keplerian elements computed from the state vector at any moment are only valid for a short period of time and need to be recomputed often to determine a valid object ...
It is expressed as the angle between a reference plane and the orbital plane or axis of direction of the orbiting object. For a satellite orbiting the Earth directly above the Equator, the plane of the satellite's orbit is the same as the Earth's equatorial plane, and the satellite's orbital inclination is 0°. The general case for a circular ...
The longitude of the ascending node, also known as the right ascension of the ascending node, is one of the orbital elements used to specify the orbit of an object in space. Denoted with the symbol Ω , it is the angle from a specified reference direction, called the origin of longitude , to the direction of the ascending node (☊), as ...
The argument of periapsis (also called argument of perifocus or argument of pericenter), symbolized as ω (), is one of the orbital elements of an orbiting body. . Parametrically, ω is the angle from the body's ascending node to its periapsis, measured in the dire
The energy required to reach Earth orbital velocity at an altitude of 600 km (370 mi) is about 36 MJ/kg, which is six times the energy needed merely to climb to the corresponding altitude. [4] Spacecraft with a perigee below about 2,000 km (1,200 mi) are subject to drag from the Earth's atmosphere, [5] which decreases the orbital altitude. The ...