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The Eccentric Behavior of Nearly Frozen OrbitsFrozen orbits are orbits which have only short-period changes in their mean eccentricity and argument of periapse, so that they basically keep a fixed orientation within their plane of motion. Nearly frozen orbits are those whose eccentricity and argument of periapse have values close to those of a frozen orbit. We call them "nearly" frozen because their eccentricity vector (a vector whose polar coordinates are eccentricity and argument of periapse) will stay within a bounded distance from the frozen orbit eccentricity vector, circulating around it over time. For highly inclined orbits around the Earth, this distance is effectively constant over time. Furthermore, frozen orbit eccentricity values are low enough that these orbits are essentially eccentric (i.e., off center) circles, so that nearly frozen orbits around Earth are bounded above and below by frozen orbits.
Document ID
20150008067
Acquisition Source
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Document Type
Conference Paper
External Source(s)
Authors
Sweetser, Theodore H.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Vincent, Mark A.
(Raytheon Co. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Date Acquired
May 13, 2015
Publication Date
August 11, 2013
Subject Category
Numerical Analysis
Space Communications, Spacecraft Communications, Command And Tracking
Astrodynamics
Report/Patent Number
AAS 13-867
Meeting Information
Meeting: 2013 AAS/AIAA Astrodynamics Specialist Conference
Location: Hilton Head, SC
Country: United States
Start Date: August 11, 2013
End Date: August 15, 2013
Sponsors: American Astronomical Society, American Inst. of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other
Keywords
spacecraft
collision

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