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  2. Orbital mechanics - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbital_mechanics

    From a circular orbit, thrust applied in a direction opposite to the satellite's motion changes the orbit to an elliptical one; the satellite will descend and reach the lowest orbital point (the periapse) at 180 degrees away from the firing point; then it will ascend back. The period of the resultant orbit will be less than that of the original ...

  3. Characteristic energy - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Characteristic_energy

    After reducing the problem to the relative motion of the bodies in the plane, he defines the constant of the motion c 3 by the equation ẋ 2 + ẏ 2 = 2k 2 M/r + c 3, where M is the total mass of the two bodies and k 2 is Moulton's notation for the gravitational constant. He defines c 1, c 2, and c 4 to be other constants of the

  4. Orbit modeling - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbit_modeling

    Orbit modeling is the process of creating mathematical models to simulate motion of a massive body as it moves in orbit around another massive body due to gravity. Other forces such as gravitational attraction from tertiary bodies, air resistance , solar pressure , or thrust from a propulsion system are typically modeled as secondary effects.

  5. Specific orbital energy - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Specific_orbital_energy

    The International Space Station has an orbital period of 91.74 minutes (5504 s), hence by Kepler's Third Law the semi-major axis of its orbit is 6,738 km. [citation needed] The specific orbital energy associated with this orbit is −29.6 MJ/kg: the potential energy is −59.2 MJ/kg, and the kinetic energy 29.6 MJ/kg.

  6. Elliptic orbit - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elliptic_orbit

    In a stricter sense, it is a Kepler orbit with the eccentricity greater than 0 and less than 1 (thus excluding the circular orbit). In a wider sense, it is a Kepler orbit with negative energy. This includes the radial elliptic orbit, with eccentricity equal to 1. They are frequently used during various astrodynamic calculations.

  7. Orbital maneuver - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbital_maneuver

    A low energy transfer, or low energy trajectory, is a route in space which allows spacecraft to change orbits using very little fuel. [ 10 ] [ 11 ] These routes work in the Earth - Moon system and also in other systems, such as traveling between the satellites of Jupiter .

  8. Hohmann transfer orbit - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hohmann_transfer_orbit

    The diagram shows a Hohmann transfer orbit to bring a spacecraft from a lower circular orbit into a higher one. It is an elliptic orbit that is tangential both to the lower circular orbit the spacecraft is to leave (cyan, labeled 1 on diagram) and the higher circular orbit that it is to reach (red, labeled 3 on diagram).

  9. Vis-viva equation - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vis-viva_equation

    In astrodynamics, the vis-viva equation is one of the equations that model the motion of orbiting bodies.It is the direct result of the principle of conservation of mechanical energy which applies when the only force acting on an object is its own weight which is the gravitational force determined by the product of the mass of the object and the strength of the surrounding gravitational field.