The effect of atmospheric drag on position and velocity errors of orbiting spacecraftA model, in closed form, of position and velocity changes due to atmospheric drag of a spacecraft in orbit about a planetary body is presented, considering primarily the effects of a two-body force field. Calculations for both elliptical and circular geometries indicate that the simplifying assumptions in the analysis make the theory more accurate (to less than 1 percent error) for lengthier mappings, when the drag effect becomes quite significant. The downtrack error demonstrates a quadratic growth, while the radial error demonstrates a linear growth.
Document ID
19870035184
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Russell, R. Kent (California Institute of Technology Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, United States)