2.10.

2023

Orbital Mechanics

Dr. Demet Cilden-Guler

Introduction
Website: https://web.itu.edu.tr/cilden/

Department of Astronautical Engineering

Faculty of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Istanbul Technical University

Overview of Course Objectives

• Dynamics of Point Masses
• Two-Body Problem
• Orbital Positions as a Function of Time
• Orbits in Three Dimensions
• Preliminary Orbit Determination
• Orbit Maneuvers
• Interplanetary Trajectories

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Textbook

ITU Library Link ITU Library Link (Older Issue)

ü Howard D. Curtis, Orbital Mechanics üDavid A. Vallado, Fundamentals of

for Engineering Students, Revised Astrodynamics and Applications,
Fourth Edition, Elsevier, Aerospace Fourth Edition, Microcosm Press,
Engineering Series, 2021. 2013.

D. Cilden-Guler Orbital Mechanics 3

Evaluation Criteria
1. Team Project - 20% (Follow the announcements!):
• Final Report by Each Team (5%) December 18th
• Final Presentation by Each Team: NoShowNoGrade! (15%) December 25th
• (?) Bonus: Real-World Problem | In-Class Session (TBD)

2. Short Quizzes - 15% (Please bring your calculators) Pop Quiz

3. Midterm Exam - 25% (Please bring your calculators) Week 10 | December 4th

4. Final Exam - 40% (Please bring your calculators) (TBA)

Final Exam Policy: The weighted average of the first two quizzes and the midterm
exam grade total must be at least 30 out of 100 in order to enter the final exam.
Otherwise, the letter grade will be ‘VF’.
Passing Grade: 30 / 100
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Setting Up Teams

• Form Your Team with 12-14 Students per Group (Or I Will)
• Give a Distinctive Name for your Team/Mission
• Choose a Team Leader
• Define Roles and Responsibilities for Other Team Members
• Complete Team and Member Registration
• Choose Your Mission (Needs to be Different for Each Team)

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Setting Up Teams

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Hypothetical Mission to Where?

1. Select a Target (Planets/Moons)
2. Other Missions | Provide Mission Context:
• List previous and future missions to the selected target (flybys can be included).
• Give proper scientific citations.
3. Other Missions | Provide Details:
• Name of the Mission.
• Picture of the spacecraft.
• Describe the goals of the mission.
• Highlight the most interesting aspect of that mission for you.
• Specify the starting date and time of the mission.
• Provide information on the planned end date and time.
• Include the current status of the mission.
• Discuss the trajectory properties of the mission.
• Mention the type of chemical or electric propulsion device used on the spacecraft (exclude launch vehicle details).
4. Interplanetary Trajectory Design:
• Design an interplanetary trajectory from Earth/planet to the target and show the necessary calculations.
5. Problem Discussion:
• Address any problems or challenges associated with your mission, if necessary.

D. Cilden-Guler Orbital Mechanics 7

Team & Mission

• Team up until the next week (14.30, October 9th).

• Each team should choose a different target.
• Your choice should be approved.
• Choose your target until the third week (14.30, October 16th)
• Upload your reports and presentations to NINOVA until 14.30, December 18th
• Presentations will be made by PechaKucha format
• 20 slides for 20 seconds each: 6.40 minutes in total
• Each team member needs to present 1-2 slides (No Show No Grade Policy!)

• Please follow the announcements through https://ninova.itu.edu.tr/

• Lecture Notes will be shared under UZB 352E Class, ‘Sınıf Dosyaları’ tab.

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Exam Reminders
• You might be asked to make your calculations in scientific format e.g.
98.126520 = 0.98126520×102 = 9.8126520×101
• For doing this, use your calculators in SCI mode
• WHY?
• Calculations will have measures like 6.6742867×10-11 and 1.4959787×108
at the same time
• Be sure to use appropriate units on your calculators e.g. rad, deg
• Do not forget to write the unit of measure in your answers

D. Cilden-Guler Orbital Mechanics 9

Where Does Space Begin?

Mostly accepted:
KÁRMÁN LINE
• 62 miles (100 kilometers) above the Earth’s surface

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Astronomical Unit (AU)

Average distance between the Earth
and the Sun
1 AU = 149,597,870.7 km ≈ 150 million
km

Credit: https://www.nasa.gov/m ission_pages/voyager/m ultim edia/pia17046.htm l

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Orbital Perturbations
• Non-spherical Earth
• Nonhomogeneous mass distribution
• Gravitational attraction of other celestial bodies:
• Moon, Sun, Jupiter etc.
• Atmospheric drag
• Solar wind
• Solar radiation pressure
• Albedo
• Relativistic effects
etc.
Credit: Walter, U. (2018). Orbit Perturbations. In: Astronautics. Springer, Cham.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74373-8_12

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Milankovitch Cycles

Credit: N ASA
Gravitational influences of the sun

Credit: N ASA/JPL-Caltech

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Precession and Nutation

• Due to the Earth’s oblateness, the rotation axis of the

Earth moves on a cone in space: Precession. The
period of this motion is about 26000 years.
• Due to the Moon’s gravity, the rotation axis makes
another motion with smaller amplitude: Nutation.

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Yarkovsky Effect
Surfaces
• Heat up during the day
• Cool down at night
Radiation acting as a sort of mini-
thruster
• Called Yarkovsky effect
Rotates asteroids to drift widely Credit: N ASA's Goddard Space

over time Flight Center

If the hot spot is forward of the

direction of motion, it will slow the
asteroid’s orbital speed
If the hot spot is rearward of the
direction of motion, it will speed up
the orbital motion.
Credit: A. Angelich, N RAO/AU I/N SF

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Orbital Mechanics

Dr. Demet Cilden-Guler

Lecture 1: Dynamics of Point Masses

Department of Astronautical Engineering

Faculty of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Istanbul Technical University

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What to Learn
• Review of vectors and some vector operations
• Curvilinear motion of particles in three dimensions
• Concepts of force and mass along with Newton’s inverse-square law of
gravitation
• Newton’s second law of motion (“force equals mass times acceleration”)
• Angular momentum
• Motion relative to moving frames of reference
• Time derivatives of moving vectors
• Applied to the computation of relative velocity and acceleration
• Coriolis force

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Vectors

A
uˆ A =
A

A = Ax ˆi + Ay ˆj + Az kˆ

Fig. 1 Three-dimensional, right-handed Cartesian

coordinate system.
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Vectors
uˆ A = cos q x ˆi + cos q y ˆj + cos q z kˆ

Ax Ay Az
cos q x = cos q y = cos q z =
A A A
# Calculate the direction angles of the vector
ˆ
𝐀 = 𝟐𝐢 + 𝐣 − 3𝐤.

A = 22 + 12 + (-3) 2 = 3.74
æ Ax ö
q x = cos -1 ç ÷ Þ q x = 57.69 degrees
è Aø
æA ö
q y = cos -1 ç y ÷ Þ q y = 74.50 degrees
è Aø
æA ö
Fig. 2 Direction angles in three dimensions. q z = cos -1 ç z ÷ Þ q z = 143.30 degrees
è Aø
NoteD.
carefully that the sum of the angles is not in general known
Cilden-Guler a priori and cannot be assumed to be, say, 180 degrees.
Orbital Mechanics 19

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Kinematics r (t ) = x(t )ˆi + y (t )ˆj + z (t )kˆ

dx(t ) ˆ dy (t ) ˆ dy (t ) ˆ
v (t ) = i+ j+ k = vx (t )ˆi + v y (t )ˆj + vz (t )kˆ
dt dt dt

dvx (t ) ˆ dv y (t ) ˆ dvz (t ) ˆ
a(t ) = i+ j+ k = ax (t )ˆi + a y (t )ˆj + az (t )kˆ
dt dt dt

v ¹ r

d() d 2 () d 3 ()
Fig. 3 Position, velocity, and acceleration vectors. ( ) = () = () =
dt dt 2 dt 3
If the path is a straight line, then the motion is rectilinear. Otherwise,
D. Cilden-Guler the path is curved, and the motion is called curvilinear.20
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Kinematics uˆ t =
v vx ˆ v y ˆ vz ˆ
= i + j+ k
v v v v
(v = vx2 + v y2 + vz2 )
v = vuˆ t

ds = vdt v = s
v2
a = at uˆ t + anuˆ n at = v(= s) an =
r

rC / P = r uˆ n uˆ b = uˆ t ´ uˆ n

v ´ a = vuˆ t ´ ( at uˆ t + anuˆ n ) = van (uˆ t ´ uˆ n ) = vanuˆ b = v ´ a  uˆ b

v´a
uˆ b = uˆ b ´ uˆ t = uˆ n uˆ t ´ uˆ n = uˆ b uˆ n ´ uˆ b = uˆ t
 v´a 
v
Fig. 4 Orthogonal triad of unit vectors associated with ds = r df f =
the moving point P. r
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Kinematics uˆ t =
v vx ˆ v y ˆ vz ˆ
= i + j+ k
v v v v
(v = vx2 + v y2 + vz2 )
# The position vector in meters is given as a
function of time in seconds as
r = (8t 2 + 7t + 6) ˆi + (5t 3 + 4) ˆj + ( 0.3t 4 + 2t 2 + 1) kˆ (m)
At t = 10 s, calculate
(a) v (the magnitude of the derivative of r)
(b) 𝑟̇ (the derivative of the magnitude of r)
(a) The velocity 𝐯 is found by differentiating the given position
vector with respect to time,
d𝐫
𝐯= = (16𝑡 + 7)𝐢ˆ + 15𝑡 !𝐣ˆ + 1.2𝑡 " + 4𝑡 𝐤
ˆ
d𝑡
The magnitude of this vector is the square root of the sum of the
squares of its components,
Fig. 4 Orthogonal triad of unit vectors associated with 𝑣 = 1.44𝑡 # + 234.6𝑡 $ + 272𝑡 ! + 224𝑡 + 49
the moving point P. Evaluating this at 𝑡 = 10 s, we get
D. Cilden-Guler Orbital Mechanics 𝑣 = 1953.3 m/s 22

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Kinematics uˆ t =
v vx ˆ v y ˆ vz ˆ
= i + j+ k
v v v v
(v = vx2 + v y2 + vz2 )
# The position vector in meters is given as a
function of time in seconds as
r = (8t 2 + 7t + 6) ˆi + (5t 3 + 4) ˆj + ( 0.3t 4 + 2t 2 + 1) kˆ (m)
At t = 10 s, calculate
(a) v (the magnitude of the derivative of r)
(b) 𝑟̇ (the derivative of the magnitude of r)
(b) Calculating the magnitude of 𝐫 leads to
𝑟= 0.09𝑡 % + 26.2𝑡 # + 68.6𝑡 $ + 152𝑡 " + 149𝑡 ! + 84𝑡 + 53
The time derivative of this expression is
d𝑟 0.36𝑡 & + 78.6𝑡 ' + 137.2𝑡 " + 228𝑡 ! + 149𝑡 + 42
= 𝑟˙ =
d𝑡 0.09𝑡 % + 26.2𝑡 # + 68.6𝑡 $ + 152𝑡 " + 149𝑡 ! + 84𝑡 + 53
Substituting 𝑡 = 10 s yields
Fig. 4 Orthogonal triad of unit vectors associated with 𝑟˙ = 1935.5 m/s
the moving point P.
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Newton's Law of Gravitation

m1m2
• The gravitational force between two masses, Fg = G
r2
GM
• Acceleration of gravity, g =
r2
GM
• At sea level, g0 =
RE2
g 0 = 9.807m / s 2

RE2 g0
g = g0 =
( RE + z ) (1 + z / RE )
2 2

Fig. 5 Variation of the acceleration of gravity with

altitude.

A plot to a height of 2000 km (the upper limit of low

D. Cilden-Guler earth
Orbital orbit operations)
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Newton's Law of Gravitation

The resultant or net force on a body of mass,

Fnet = ma
The integral of a force F over a time interval is
called the impulse of the force (vector),
I = ò tt12 Fdt
The moment of the net force about O,
dv
M O )net = r ´ Fnet = r ´ ma = r ´ m
dt
The angular momentum about O,
H O = r ´ mv

Fig. 6 The absolute acceleration of a particle is in

dH O
the direction of the net force. M O )net =
dt
ò tt12 M O ) net
= H O )2 - H O )1

Assumption: mass is constant!

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Moving Vectors

Magnitude of dA
dA = [( A  × sin f )dq ]nˆ

dq = ω  dt

dω
Angular acceleration, α =
dt

dA æ d ö
= ω ´ A ç if  A = 0 ÷
dt è dt ø

Fig. 7 Displacement of a rigid body. (a) Change in orientation of an

embedded vector A. (b) Differential rotation of A about the
instantaneous rotation axis.
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Moving Vectors
Kinematic quantities measured relative to
• fixed inertial frame (𝐈ˆ , 𝐉ˆ , 𝐊):
ˆ absolute (e.g., absolute acceleration)
𝐁 = 𝐵(𝐈ˆ + 𝐵)𝐉ˆ + 𝐵*𝐊
ˆ
d𝐁 d𝐵( d𝐵) d𝐵*
= 𝐈ˆ + 𝐉ˆ + ˆ
𝐊
d𝑡 d𝑡 d𝑡 d𝑡
ˆ 𝒋,
• moving frame (𝒊, ˆ relative (e.g., relative acceleration)
ˆ 𝒌):
ˆ
𝐁 = 𝐵+ 𝐢ˆ + 𝐵, 𝐣ˆ + 𝐵- 𝐤

d𝐁 d𝐵+ d𝐵, d𝐵- d𝐢ˆ d𝐣ˆ ˆ

d𝐤
= 𝐢ˆ + 𝐣ˆ + ˆ + 𝐵+ + 𝐵, + 𝐵-
𝐤
d𝑡 d𝑡 d𝑡 d𝑡 d𝑡 d𝑡 d𝑡
d𝐁 d𝐁
= J + 𝛀×𝐁
d𝑡 d𝑡 rel
Time derivative of B relative to the moving frame
Fig. 8 Fixed (inertial) and moving rigid d𝐁 d𝐵+ d𝐵, d𝐵-
frames of reference. J = 𝐢ˆ + 𝐣ˆ + ˆ
𝐤
d𝑡 rel d𝑡 d𝑡 d𝑡

d𝐁/d𝑡 =D.d𝐁/d𝑡) ./0 only when the moving frame is in pure translation
Cilden-Guler (𝛀 = 𝟎).
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Moving Vectors
d! 𝐁 dd𝐁 d𝛀 d𝐁
= U + ×𝐁 + Ω×
d𝑡 ! d𝑡 d𝑡 rel d𝑡 d𝑡

d! 𝐁 d d d𝛀 d𝐁
= U + ×𝐁 + 𝛀× + 𝛀×𝐁W
d𝑡 ! d𝑡 d𝑡 ./0 d𝑡 d𝑡 ./0

d d𝑡 d!𝐁 d𝐁
= U + 𝛀× X
d𝑡𝐁 rel d𝑡 ! ./0 d𝑡
./0
d! 𝐁 d!𝐵+ d!𝐵, d!𝐵-
U = 𝐢ˆ + 𝐣ˆ + ˆ
𝐤
!
d𝑡 ./0 d𝑡 ! d𝑡 ! d𝑡 !

d! 𝐁 d! 𝐁 d𝐁 d𝛀 d𝐁
! = + 𝛀× U W + ×𝐁 + 𝛀× + 𝛀×𝐁Y
d𝑡 d𝑡 ! rel d𝑡 d𝑡 d𝑡 rel
./0
Fig. 8 Fixed (inertial) and moving rigid
frames of reference. d! 𝐁 d! 𝐁 d𝐁
= !U ˙
+ 𝜶×𝐁 + 𝛀×(𝛀×𝐁) + 2𝛀× X
d𝑡 ! d𝑡 rel d𝑡
rel
˙ ≡ d𝛀/d𝑡
𝛀 is the absolute angular acceleration of the 𝑥𝑦𝑧 frame
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Relative Motion
𝐫 = 𝐫1 + 𝐫./0
ˆ
𝐫./0 = 𝑥 𝐢ˆ + 𝑦𝐣ˆ + 𝑧𝐤
where 𝑥, 𝑦, and 𝑧 are the coordinates of 𝑃 relative to the
moving reference.
The absolute velocity 𝐯 of 𝑃 is d𝐫/d𝑡,
d𝐫
𝐯 = 𝐯1 + rel
d𝑡
𝐯1 = d𝐫1/d𝑡 : (absolute) velocity of the origin of the 𝑥𝑦𝑧
frame.
d𝐫rel
= 𝐯rel + 𝛀×𝐫rel
d𝑡
ˆ 𝐣,
𝐯rel : velocity of 𝑃 relative to the 𝑥𝑦𝑧 frame (so that 𝐢, ˆ
ˆ
and 𝐤 are held fixed):
d𝐫./0 d𝑥 d𝑦 d𝑧
𝐯./0 = J = 𝐢ˆ + 𝐣ˆ + ˆ
𝐤
d𝑡 ./0 d𝑡 d𝑡 d𝑡
Fig. 9 Absolute and relative position vectors. 𝐯 = 𝐯1 + 𝛀×𝐫./0 + 𝐯./0

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Relative Motion
𝐫 = 𝐫1 + 𝐫./0
𝐯 = 𝐯1 + 𝛀×𝐫./0 + 𝐯./0
The absolute acceleration a of 𝑃 is d𝐯/d𝑡,
d!𝐫./0
𝐚 = 𝐚1 +
d𝑡 !
𝐚1 = d𝐯1/d𝑡 : absolute acceleration of the origin of the 𝑥𝑦𝑧
frame
d!𝐫./0 d!𝐫./0 d𝐫./0
! = ! U + 𝜶×𝐫 ˙ ./0 + 𝛀× 𝛀×𝐫./2 + 2𝛀× J
d𝑡 d𝑡 ./0
d𝑡 ./0
𝐚rel = d!𝐫rel /d𝑡 !]
rel
d!𝐫rel
˙
= 𝐚rel + 𝛀×𝐫
d𝑡 ! rel + 𝛀× 𝛀×𝐫rel + 2𝛀×𝐯rel
Upon substituting this result, we find
˙ ./0 + 𝛀× 𝛀×𝐫./0 + 2𝛀×𝐯./0 + 𝐚./0
𝐚 = 𝐚1 + 𝛀×𝐫
Fig. 9 Absolute and relative position vectors.
2𝛀×𝐯rеl : Coriolis acceleration (due to the rotation of the
planet)

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Fig. 10 Earth-centered inertial frame (XYZ); earth-centered

Relative Motion noninertial x′y′z′ frame embedded in and rotating with the
earth; and a noninertial, topocentric-horizon frame xyz
attached to a point O on the earth’s surface.
Nonrotating inertial frame of reference XYZ with its
origin at the center C of the earth, which we shall assume
to be a sphere.
Embedded in the earth and rotating with it, is the
orthogonal x’y’z’ frame, also centered at C, with the z’ axis
parallel to Z, the earth’s axis of rotation. The x’ axis
intersects the equator at the prime meridian (0 degree
longitude), which passes through Greenwich in London,
England.
The angle between X and x’ is θG, and the rate of increase
of θG is just the angular velocity Ω of the earth.
rrel is the position vector of P relative to C in the rotating
x’y’z’ system.
At a given instant, P is directly over point O, which lies on
the earth’s surface at longitude Λ and latitude ϕ. X
Point O coincides instantaneously with the origin of what
is known as a topocentric-horizon coordinate system xyz.
x and y are measured positive eastward and northward
along the local latitude and meridian,
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𝐫 = 𝐫1 + 𝐫./0
Practice Quiz (Question) 𝐯 = 𝐯1 + 𝛀×𝐫./0 + 𝐯./0

At a given instant, the absolute position and velocity of the origin 𝑂 of a moving frame are,
𝐫1 = 1200𝐈ˆ + 600𝐉ˆ + 300𝐊
ˆ (m)
𝐯1 = 10𝐈ˆ − 10𝐣ˆ + 20𝐊
ˆ (m/s)
The angular velocity of the moving frame is 𝛀 = −0.3𝐈ˆ + 0.1𝐉ˆ + 0.6𝐊
ˆ (rad/s)
The unit vector of the moving frame with respect to inertial frame are,
𝐢ˆ = 0.4472𝐈ˆ + 0.5477𝐉ˆ + 0.5𝐊
ˆ
B̂ = −1𝐈ˆ + 0𝐉ˆ + 0𝐊ˆ
C = 0𝐈ˆ + 1𝐉ˆ + 0𝐊
𝐤 ˆ
The absolute position and velocity (𝐫 and 𝐯) of 𝑃 : 𝐫 = 300𝐈ˆ − 100𝐉ˆ + 150𝐊
ˆ (m)

𝐯 = 70𝐈ˆ + 25𝐉ˆ − 20𝐊

ˆ (m/s)
Find the second term (B̂ component) of the velocity vector 𝐯./0 of 𝑃 relative to the moving frame
(in m/s).

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Practice Quiz (Non-Graded!) 𝐫 = 300𝐈ˆ − 100𝐉ˆ + 150𝐊

ˆ (m)

Solution 𝐯 = 70𝐈ˆ + 25𝐉ˆ − 20𝐊

ˆ (m/s)

The relative position vector is

𝐫rel = 𝐫 − 𝐫^ = 300𝐈ˆ − 100𝐉ˆ + 150𝐊
ˆ − 1200𝐈ˆ + 600𝐉ˆ + 300𝐊
ˆ
= −900𝐈ˆ − 700𝐉ˆ − 150𝐊(m)
ˆ
The relative velocity vector is 𝐯_`a = 𝐯 − 𝐯^ − 𝛀×𝐫_`a =

𝐈ˆ 𝐉ˆ ˆ
𝐊
= (70𝐈ˆ + 25𝐉ˆ − 20𝐊)
ˆ − (10𝐈ˆ − 10𝐉ˆ + 20𝐊)
ˆ − −0.3 0.1 0.6
−900 −700 −150
= (70𝐈ˆ + 25𝐉ˆ − 20𝐊)
ˆ − (10𝐈ˆ − 10𝐉ˆ + 20𝐊)
ˆ − (405𝐈ˆ − 585𝐉ˆ + 300𝐊)ˆ
𝐯_`a = −345𝐈ˆ + 620𝐉ˆ − 340𝐊
ˆ (m/s)
ˆ (m/s)
Along the axes of the moving frame, 𝐯rel = 15.30𝐢ˆ + 345𝐣ˆ + 620𝐤
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