Long-period perturbations in Starlette orbit and tide solution

The long-period perturbations present in the orbit of the Starlette geodetic satellite is analyzed using a one-year continuous orbit from October 1976 through October 1977 and a three-year orbit during 1983 through 1985. A solution for 66 ocean tidal parameters for 14 low-degree tidal constituents is obtained in a simultaneous least squares estimation procedure with other geodynamic and orbit parameters. The yearly values of the second-degree S(a) tides, which have been observed to produce significant seasonal variations on the Starlette node, are included in the solution. Good agreement is found between the solutions, other satellite solutions, the oceanographic tide solutions, and other investigations using the computation of the earth's tidal response. The results indicate that the Starlette tide solutions produces significantly improved orbit fits for both Lageos and Starlette.