Dynamical modeling and lifetime analysis of geostationary transfer orbits

Gurfil, Pini

doi:10.1016/j.actaastro.2016.06.050

Cited by 19 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Note, however, that atmospheric drag, which can be decisive for the reentry of LEO (and, likely, GTOs) for altitudes smaller than 1000 km (qv. Wang and Gurfil, 2016), is not included in our simulations. Hence, our main results for high altitudes are still valid even in the LEO zone (e.g., the escape hatch at altitudes h > 2000 km) for low to moderate eccentricities, but for the densely populated LEO region a model incorporating drag should be used.…”

Section: Global Phase-space Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Dynamical cartography of Earth satellite orbits

Rosengren

Skoulidou

Tsiganis

et al. 2019

Advances in Space Research

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We have carried out a numerical investigation of the coupled gravitational and non-gravitational perturbations acting on Earth satellite orbits in an extensive grid, covering the whole circumterrestrial space, using an appropriately modified version of the SWIFT symplectic integrator, which is suitable for long-term (120 years) integrations of the non-averaged equations of motion. Hence, we characterize the long-term dynamics and the phase-space structure of the Earth-orbiter environment, starting from low altitudes (400 km) and going up to the GEO region and beyond. This investigation was done in the framework of the EC-funded ''ReDSHIFT" project, with the purpose of enabling the definition of passive debris removal strategies, based on the use of physical mechanisms inherent in the complex dynamics of the problem (i.e., resonances). Accordingly, the complicated interactions among resonances, generated by different perturbing forces (i.e., lunisolar gravity, solar radiation pressure, tesseral harmonics in the geopotential) are accurately depicted in our results, where we can identify the regions of phase space where the motion is regular and long-term stable and regions for which eccentricity growth and even instability due to chaotic behavior can emerge. The results are presented in an ''atlas" of dynamical stability maps for different orbital zones, with a particular focus on the (drag-free) range of semimajor axes, where the perturbing effects of the Earth's oblateness and lunisolar gravity are of comparable order. In some regions, the overlapping of the predominant lunisolar secular and semi-secular resonances furnish a number of interesting disposal hatches at moderate to low eccentricity orbits. All computations were repeated for an increased area-to-mass ratio, simulating the case of a satellite equipped with an on-board, area-augmenting device. We find that this would generally promote the deorbiting process, particularly at the transition region between LEO and MEO. Although direct reentry from very low eccentricities is very unlikely in most cases of interest, we find that a modest ''delta-v" (DV ) budget would be enough for satellites to be steered into a relatively short-lived resonance and achieve reentry into the Earth's atmosphere within reasonable timescales (50 years).

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Section: Global Phase-space Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Dynamical cartography of Earth satellite orbits

Rosengren

Skoulidou

Tsiganis

et al. 2019

Advances in Space Research

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“…By averaging the effects of orbital perturbations over one orbital revolution, it is possible to integrate the mean elements of the GTO instead of its osculating elements, allowing the use of much larger integration step-sizes (in the order of one day). Recently, Wang and Gurfil (2016) used Milankovitch elements for the long-term propagation of GTOs, with similar advantages.…”

Section: Semi-analytical Propagationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ariane 5 GTO debris mitigation using natural perturbations

Pons

Noomen

2019

Advances in Space Research

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GTO objects can potentially collide with operative satellites in LEO and GEO protected regions. Internationally accepted debris mitigation guidelines require that these objects exit these protected regions within 25 years, e.g. by re-entering and burning up in Earth's atmosphere. In this paper, an inventory of the GTO debris generated from Ariane 5 launches in the period 2012-2017 is provided, and it is expected that none of these objects will re-enter within 25 years. For future launches, natural perturbations can be exploited to increase compliance with mitigation guidelines without the use of extra propellant or complex de-orbiting systems, which is attractive from an economic point of view. The lifetime of GTO objects is very sensitive to initial conditions and some environmental and body-related parameters, mainly due to the effect of solar gravity on the perigee altitude. As a consequence, the lifetime of a specific GTO object cannot be predicted accurately, but its probability of re-entering in less than 25 years can be estimated with proper accuracy by following a statistical approach. By propagating the orbits of over 800 000 simulated Ariane 5 GTO objects, it was found that the launch time leading to the highest probability of compliance with debris mitigation guidelines for GEO launches from Kourou corresponds to about 2 PM local time, regardless of the date of launch, which leads to compliance rates ranging from 60 to 100%. Current practice is to launch at around 5-9 PM, so a change in procedures would be required in order to reach a higher degree of compliance with debris mitigation guidelines, which was predicted to be on average below 20% for the objects generated in the period 2012-2017.

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“…In complex perturbed environments, the semi-analytical model based on the averaging approach is widely employed as the standard technique in studying secular evolution, providing analytical insights into these perturbing effects, which is quite helpful for mission design. For example, orbital stability analysis (Scheeres et al, 2001;Lara and Juan, 2005;Fu and Wang, 2021), frozen orbit solutions (Delsate et al, 2010;Ulivieri et al, 2013;Condoleo et al, 2016;Circi et al, 2017), and orbits with specific evolution performances (Kamel and Tibbitts, 1973;Liu et al, 2010) have been extensively studied, and relevant results have been applied to a wide range of space missions, as well as lifetime reduction of space debris (Wang and Gurfil, 2016;.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Semi-analytical orbital model around an oblate body with an inclined eccentric perturber

Wang²,

Hu³

2023

Front. Astron. Space Sci.

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The semi-analytical model (based on the averaging technique) for long-term orbital evolution has proven to be useful in both astrophysical and astrodynamical contexts. In this secular approximation, orbits exhibit rich evolutionary behaviors under the effects of various perturbations. For example, in the hierarchical three-body systems, the Lidov-Kozai mechanism based on the quadrupole-level third-body perturbation model can produce large-amplitude oscillations of the eccentricity and inclination. In recent years, the octupole order has been found to induce dramatically new features when the perturbing body’s orbit is eccentric, including extremely high eccentricities and orbit flips between prograde and retrograde. Motivated by the striking effects of the octupole-order terms, we intend to derive a more general dynamical model by incorporating J2 of the central body and the inclined eccentric third-body perturbation to the hexadecapole order with its non-spherical gravity also included. This issue can be relevant for astrophysical and astrodynamical systems such as planets in stellar binaries, irregular satellites in planetary systems, and artificial probes about binary asteroid systems. Applications to the binary asteroid system 4951 Iwamoto and a fictitious exoplanetary system are illustrated as examples to validate our secular model. From these numerical results, we show the high accuracy of our secular model. Also, we show the important role of these high-order terms and the effects of the third-body’s inclination and eccentricity. Besides, we have found several different secular effects that could drive large eccentricities.

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Dynamical modeling and lifetime analysis of geostationary transfer orbits

Cited by 19 publications

References 15 publications

Dynamical cartography of Earth satellite orbits

Dynamical cartography of Earth satellite orbits

Ariane 5 GTO debris mitigation using natural perturbations

Semi-analytical orbital model around an oblate body with an inclined eccentric perturber

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