A method for accurate and efficient propagation of satellite orbits: A case study for a Molniya orbit
Fast and precise propagation of satellite orbits is required for mission design, orbit determination and payload data analysis. We present a method to improve the computational performance of numerical propagators and simultaneously maintain the accuracy level required by any particular application....
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2021-04-01
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| Series: | Alexandria Engineering Journal |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1110016821000016 |
| _version_ | 1818734501911592960 |
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| author | Roberto Flores Burhani Makame Burhani Elena Fantino |
| author_facet | Roberto Flores Burhani Makame Burhani Elena Fantino |
| author_sort | Roberto Flores |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Fast and precise propagation of satellite orbits is required for mission design, orbit determination and payload data analysis. We present a method to improve the computational performance of numerical propagators and simultaneously maintain the accuracy level required by any particular application. This is achieved by determining the positional accuracy needed and the corresponding acceptable error in acceleration on the basis of the mission requirements, removing those perturbation forces whose effect is negligible compared to the accuracy requirement, implementing an efficient and precise algorithm for the harmonic synthesis of the geopotential gradient (i.e., the gravitational acceleration) and adjusting the tolerance of the numerical propagator to achieve the prescribed accuracy level with minimum cost. In particular, to achieve the optimum balance between accuracy and computational performance, the number of geopotential spherical harmonics to retain is adjusted during the integration on the basis of the accuracy requirement. The contribution of high-order harmonics decays rapidly with altitude, so the minimum expansion degree meeting the target accuracy decreases with height. The optimum degree for each altitude is determined by making the truncation error of the harmonic synthesis equal to the admissible acceleration error. This paper presents a detailed description of the technique and test cases highlighting its accuracy and efficiency. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-18T00:06:22Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-69f00a330bfd4c7d88f27f60d172d885 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1110-0168 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-18T00:06:22Z |
| publishDate | 2021-04-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Alexandria Engineering Journal |
| spelling | doaj.art-69f00a330bfd4c7d88f27f60d172d8852022-12-21T21:27:48ZengElsevierAlexandria Engineering Journal1110-01682021-04-0160226612676A method for accurate and efficient propagation of satellite orbits: A case study for a Molniya orbitRoberto Flores0Burhani Makame Burhani1Elena Fantino2Department of Aerospace Engineering, Khalifa University of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi P.O. Box 127788, United Arab Emirates; Centre Internacional de Mètodes Numèrics en Enginyeria (CIMNE), Gran Capità s/n, 08034 Barcelona, SpainDepartment of Aerospace Engineering, Khalifa University of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi P.O. Box 127788, United Arab EmiratesDepartment of Aerospace Engineering, Khalifa University of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi P.O. Box 127788, United Arab Emirates; Corresponding author.Fast and precise propagation of satellite orbits is required for mission design, orbit determination and payload data analysis. We present a method to improve the computational performance of numerical propagators and simultaneously maintain the accuracy level required by any particular application. This is achieved by determining the positional accuracy needed and the corresponding acceptable error in acceleration on the basis of the mission requirements, removing those perturbation forces whose effect is negligible compared to the accuracy requirement, implementing an efficient and precise algorithm for the harmonic synthesis of the geopotential gradient (i.e., the gravitational acceleration) and adjusting the tolerance of the numerical propagator to achieve the prescribed accuracy level with minimum cost. In particular, to achieve the optimum balance between accuracy and computational performance, the number of geopotential spherical harmonics to retain is adjusted during the integration on the basis of the accuracy requirement. The contribution of high-order harmonics decays rapidly with altitude, so the minimum expansion degree meeting the target accuracy decreases with height. The optimum degree for each altitude is determined by making the truncation error of the harmonic synthesis equal to the admissible acceleration error. This paper presents a detailed description of the technique and test cases highlighting its accuracy and efficiency.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1110016821000016Orbit propagationAccuracyEfficiencyPerturbationsHarmonic synthesis |
| spellingShingle | Roberto Flores Burhani Makame Burhani Elena Fantino A method for accurate and efficient propagation of satellite orbits: A case study for a Molniya orbit Alexandria Engineering Journal Orbit propagation Accuracy Efficiency Perturbations Harmonic synthesis |
| title | A method for accurate and efficient propagation of satellite orbits: A case study for a Molniya orbit |
| title_full | A method for accurate and efficient propagation of satellite orbits: A case study for a Molniya orbit |
| title_fullStr | A method for accurate and efficient propagation of satellite orbits: A case study for a Molniya orbit |
| title_full_unstemmed | A method for accurate and efficient propagation of satellite orbits: A case study for a Molniya orbit |
| title_short | A method for accurate and efficient propagation of satellite orbits: A case study for a Molniya orbit |
| title_sort | method for accurate and efficient propagation of satellite orbits a case study for a molniya orbit |
| topic | Orbit propagation Accuracy Efficiency Perturbations Harmonic synthesis |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1110016821000016 |
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