Questions tagged [orbital-mechanics]
Orbital mechanics (also called astrodynamics) is the application of ballistics and celestial mechanics to the practical problems concerning the motion of rockets and other spacecraft on an orbital or escape trajectory. For the movements of celestial bodies, use [celestial-mechanics], not this.
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Lambert's problem without collisions
Given two fixed positions in space, a source of gravity and a time of flight to travel, the theory about Lambert's problem provides a way to calculate corresponding Keplerian orbital transfers. But, ...
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Does an exact gravity assist equation exist? Where to at least find the "advanced" approximate form?
I have been searching for an "advanced" Gravity Assist Equation, but wherever I read on the topic, references are all saying similar things, and providing only the "simplified" ...
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How (in)efficient would a rocket be that flew to orbital heights, hovered for a while, and then fell back down instead of going into orbit and back?
I understand in a vague and not mathematically rigorous way that most of the energy required to get a spacecraft into orbit goes into gaining "forward" speed, not actually in gaining ...
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Calculating azimuth and elevation of a ground station in satellite coordinate frame
I have a satellite 'Sat' and Ground Station 'GS'. I'm defining elevation and azimuth with respect to satellite boresight which is always pointing at nadir. More specifically, elevation is the angle of ...
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Angle problem between solar system orbital using keplerian orbital elements in python
I'm currently working on a project in python that aim to plot the trajectory of an asteroid in the solar system and see how a specific impact can change it's trajectory. After searching the subject, I ...
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How do I make thrust dependent on the altitude of a spacecraft in GMAT?
I want to simulate the low-orbit flight of a spacecraft with atmosphere-breathing electric propulsion in GMAT. However, I couldn't seem to find any way to make the thrust, produced by any of the ...
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Was the DART / Dimorphos impact a “Rear Ender”?
I’m trying to get a handle on the geometry of the DART asteroid collision mission. I’m aware that there are an infinite number of inertial frames of reference. The question of whether Dart hit ...
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For asteroid redirection to avoid Earth collision, is the direction of the thrust relevant? Will any push work if it's big enough?
For a near Earth asteroid (NEA) to collide with Earth, the two orbits (Earth and Asteroid) must cross. But also, both bodies must be at the crossing point at the same time. This is best illustrated by ...
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Could satellite decommissioning be delayed or prevented with the use of solar sail technology?
I'm looking into how viable solar sail manufacturing is for a company. So I'm hoping to understand if Solar Sails are viable as a method of delaying or preventing the decommissioning of satellites? ...
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What is the mass penalty for keeping an astronaut in space another day?
The question Uncrewed Lunar Probe Transit Times.....Space Age Era vs Contemporary asks why uncrewed transit times are longer than crewed missions to the same destination. Comments mention that, for ...
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Using Modern Technology How Do We Slow Down and Capture 2024 YR4?
2024 YR4 is going to pass earth 20.6 Lunar distance away in 2028, then pass less than 1 lunar distance from earth in 2032. How can we slow it down with a mission in 2028 so that when it comes by in ...
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How would a spacecraft figure out its own orbit, without help from earth?
I was looking into this as a tangent while reading about Orbital Determination, but I can't seem to find any literature on the subject. I am trying to make my own solution but can't quite seem to ...
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How much time does a spacecraft at perigee take to reach the apogee of GTO?
When a launch vehicle launches a satellite to a standard Geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) at 200 km x 35786 km, how much time does the satellite needs to coast to reach its apogee from perigee?
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Calculation of TLE like mean elements from state vectors
I have state vectors describing the satellite’s orbit under the influence of moon, sun, radiation, and the spherical Earth with zonal and tesseral terms. I want to generate a time series of mean ...
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Why can't spacecrafts remain in orbit forever?
I've heard a few times that certain spacecrafts can only stay in orbit until like 3 years or a certain time. Is this true? and if so, why?
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