Changing Orbits to M288
How do we get from any arbitrary orbit to M288? The following techniques may not be optimal for minimal \Delta V , but they set an upper bound. We will assume Kepler orbits and a circular M288 destination orbit, and heavy objects unaffected by light pressure. Actual thinsat orbits are elliptical and precess over a year with J2 and light pressure.
The origin elliptical Kepler orbit has four parameters we need to compute two \Delta V burns for our transfer orbit: |
Maneuvers use the least \Delta V farther out, so we will use different strategies depending on whether the apogee of the origin orbit is higher or lower than the M288 orbit r_288 .
Describing an arbitrary Kepler Orbit
Blue curve: |
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Red curve: |
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Green curve: |
gnuplot source and you will need to crop and convert and resize using gimp to reproduce the above images.
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