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Orbital decay is a gradual decrease of the distance between two orbiting bodies at their closest approach (the periapsis) over many orbital periods.These orbiting bodies can be a planet and its satellite, a star and any object orbiting it, or components of any binary system.
A 1 kg object impacting at 10 km/s, for example, is probably capable of catastrophically breaking up a 1,000 kg spacecraft if it strikes a high-density element in the spacecraft. In such a breakup, numerous fragments larger than 1 kg would be created. [16] Kessler's analysis divided the problem into three parts.
The orbit has decayed since the binary system was initially discovered, in precise agreement with the loss of energy due to gravitational waves described by Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity. [2] [10] [11] [12] The ratio of observed to predicted rate of orbital decay is calculated to be 0.997 ± 0.002. [12]
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. Compared with the potential energy at the surface, which is −62.6 MJ/kg., the extra potential energy is 3.4 MJ/kg, and the total extra energy is 33.0 MJ/kg.
A graveyard orbit is used when the change in velocity required to perform a de-orbit maneuver is too large. De-orbiting a geostationary satellite requires a delta-v of about 1,500 metres per second (4,900 ft/s), whereas re-orbiting it to a graveyard orbit only requires about 11 metres per second (36 ft/s).
A highly elliptical orbit (HEO) is an elliptic orbit with high eccentricity, usually referring to one around Earth.Examples of inclined HEO orbits include Molniya orbits, named after the Molniya Soviet communication satellites which used them, and Tundra orbits.
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.
Space sustainability comes into play to address the pressing current state of near-Earth orbits and its high amounts of orbital debris. [18] Spacecraft collisions with orbital debris, space weather, overcrowding in low Earth orbit (LEO) makes spacecraft susceptible to higher rates of failure.