NASA Logo

NTRS

NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server

Back to Results
Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) mission profileThe GOES mission profile used to achieve geostationary orbit following separation from the Delta launch vehicle is described. The mission profile was constrained by the solid-propellant apogee kick motor which was undersized relative to the spacecraft weight. The resulting deficiency in delivered delta-V had to be made up by the spacecraft hydrazine propulsion system. The mission profile which best utilizes the on-board hydrazine requires that the transfer orbit apogee height be biased 13,800 km above geosynchronous altitude. This maximizes the effectiveness of the apogee motor in performing the plane change necessary to achieve near-equatorial orbit. The highly eccentric drift orbit which results from the apogee motor firing has an average drift rate of 60 deg/day. Circularizing this orbit requires maneuvers designed to achieve geostationary position within a tightly constrained hydrazine allocation. The sequence takes advantage of the orbit changes resulting from attitude maneuvers and combined inplane/out-of-plane maneuvers to achieve hydrazine savings.
Document ID
19870000690
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Bryant, W. C.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Defazio, R. L.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Sauter, J. A.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Date Acquired
August 13, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 1986
Publication Information
Publication: CNES Proceedings of an International Conference on Space Dynamics for Geostationary Satellites
Subject Category
Astrodynamics
Accession Number
87N10123
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

Available Downloads

There are no available downloads for this record.
No Preview Available