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Lifetimes of lunar satellite orbitsThe Space Exploration Initiative has generated a renewed interest in lunar mission planning. The lunar missions currently under study, unlike the Apollo missions, involve long stay times. Several lunar gravity models have been formulated, but mission planners do not have enough confidence in the proposed models to conduct detailed studies of missions with long stay times. In this report, a particular lunar gravitational model, the Ferrari 5 x 5 model, was chosen to determine the lifetimes for 100-km and 300-km perilune altitude, near-circular parking orbits. The need to analyze orbital lifetimes for a large number of initial orbital parameters was the motivation for the formulation of a simplified gravitational model from the original model. Using this model, orbital lifetimes were found to be heavily dependent on the initial conditions of the nearly circular orbits, particularly the initial inclination and argument of perilune. This selected model yielded lifetime predictions of less than 40 days for some orbits, and other orbits had lifetimes exceeding a year. Although inconsistencies and limitations are inherent in all existing lunar gravity models, primarily because of a lack of information about the far side of the moon, the methods presented in this analysis are suitable for incorporating the moon's nonspherical gravitational effects on the preliminary design level for future lunar mission planning.
Document ID
19940023268
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Technical Publication (TP)
Authors
Meyer, Kurt W.
(George Washington Univ. Hampton, VA., United States)
Buglia, James J.
(Flight Mechanics and Control, Inc. Hampton, VA., United States)
Desai, Prasun N.
(NASA Langley Research Center Hampton, VA, United States)
Date Acquired
September 6, 2013
Publication Date
March 1, 1994
Subject Category
Astrodynamics
Report/Patent Number
L-17264
NASA-TP-3394
NAS 1.60:3394
Accession Number
94N27771
Funding Number(s)
PROJECT: RTOP 506-49-11-01
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.
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