NASA Logo

NTRS

NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server

Collections About News Help Login
Back to Results
Orbit selection considerations for earth observatory satellitesAll the possible circular sun-synchronous orbits for earth observatory satellites are displayed, which have orbital altitudes between 740 and 1,115 kilometers (approximately 400 to 600 nautical miles) and have either a 16, 17, or 18 day repeat cycle for the ground trace. It was found that there are 9 orbits with a 16 day repeat cycle, 17 orbits with a 17 day repeat cycle, and 7 orbits with an 18 day repeat cycle meeting the requirements. For each of these, various characteristics such as ideal ground trace patterns, swathing patterns, and daily drift are displayed. The solar elevation angle along the orbit and the change in the solar elevation angle with season are given. This presentation of general orbital characteristics has application to finding approximate orbital elements and selecting orbits for many types of earth sensing satellite missions.
Document ID
19720018175
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Preprint (Draft being sent to journal)
Authors
Cooley, J. L. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Date Acquired
September 2, 2013
Publication Date
April 1, 1972
Subject Category
Space Sciences
Report/Patent Number
NASA-TM-X-65907
X-551-72-145
Accession Number
72N25825
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

Related Records

There are no records associated with this record.
No Preview Available