Lecture 3: Orbital Mechanics

Spring 2021
Basic of Satellite Orbits
 The speed of a satellite is
• Determined by the satellite’s orbit
• Closely tied to the satellite’s altitude.

 A satellite’s orbit does not depend on its mass

• All objects with the same velocity (speed and direction) at a given
point in space follow the same orbit.

 Satellites close to the Earth move faster than those at higher

altitudes
• ISS moves faster than a GPS satellite when viewed from earth
• Satellites in low earth orbits (hundreds of kilometers above the
Earth) move rapidly relative to the Earth, completing an orbit in
1.5 to 2 hours.
Basic of Satellite Orbits
 Satellites in higher orbits move at slower speeds than those in
lower orbits
• Distance they travel in one orbit is longer.
• The time required for a satellite to orbit (the orbital period)
increases with altitude.
• Only one altitude (36,000 km)permits satellites to orbit at the
same rate at which the Earth rotates, such satellites are called
geosynchronous.

 Once in orbit, a satellite does not need constant powering to

remain in flight, as airplanes do. Satellites use small onboard
rocket engines to maneuver in space.
 A satellite’s orbit always lies in a plane that passes through the
center of the Earth.
• The angle between that plane and the plane of the equator is
called the orbit’s inclination.
Basic of Satellite Orbits
Ground Track: The part of the
earth that lies beneath the satellite
orbit
A satellite in an orbit with
inclination angle “theta” cannot pass
directly over any location on Earth
with latitude greater than“theta”.
A satellite launched from a site at
latitude “theta” follows an orbit with
inclination greater than or equal to
“theta”.
From a launch site at latitude
“theta” it is not possible to launch a
satellite into an orbit with inclination
less than “theta”.
A launch site that is not on the
equator cannot place a satellite
directly into an equatorial orbit.
Altitude vs. Orbital Speed vs Orbital Period

Speed needed to keep an object on orbit does not depend on its mass. Any object small
or large with the same velocity will travel on the same orbit.
Orbital Mechanics

 What keeps a satellite in an orbit around earth? Why

doesn’t a satellite go directly towards Earth, and why
doesn’t it escape Earth?

1. Centrifugal force
2. Centripetal force
3. Moon and Solar gravitations
4. Atmospheric drag
5. Solar winds and cosmic radiation
Circular Satellite Orbits
 Considering the first two forces only for the time being,
the following figure illustrates how these forces act on an
object in orbit around Earth:
Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation
 Gravity is the force of nature that attracts one mass to another
mass.
 Gravity holds you on the Earth, causes apples to fall, and, as in
the figure below, accelerates sledders down snowy slopes.
 On a larger scale, gravity is responsible for the motion of the
Moon, Earth, and other planets.
 To describe the force of gravity, Newton proposed the
following law:

© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc.

 Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation
 Every particle in the Universe attracts
every other particle with a force that is
directly proportional to the product of
their masses and inversely proportional
to the distance between them
 Thus, the Centripetal Force due to
gravity of Earth (FG ) is equal to
 𝐹 =𝐺 𝑚 1 . 𝑚 2
𝐺 2
𝑟

 G = is The Universal Gravitational Constant (6.673 x 10-11 N.m2 / kg2 )

ME = The mass of Earth (5.9742*1024 kg)
ms = the mass of satellite
rS = the radius of rotation of satellite around the center of Earth. It becomes
equal to the addition of Satellite altitude (as) with Earth radius (rE): where
= 6738.137 km
Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation
 As is shown in the figure below, Newton's law of gravity states that
the force between two masses is directed along a line connecting
the masses.

 Both masses in the figure experience an attractive force of the

same magnitude, 𝐹𝐺 =𝐺 𝑚 1 .2𝑚 2
𝑟

 The force of gravity between the two object form an action-

reaction pair.
Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation
 Gravity decreases with the inverse square of the distance, 1/r2.
Because of this, we say that gravity obeys an inverse square force
law.
 As the graph below shows, even though the force of gravity
diminishes rapidly with distance, it never completely vanishes.
Thus gravity is a force of infinite range.
Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation
 If a mass experiences
gravitational forces
from a number of
other masses, then the
total force acting on it
is the vector sum of all
those individual
forces.

 The fact that the

forces of gravity add
together like vectors is
referred to as
superposition. © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc.
Kepler Elements, Orbital Elements (Earth Orbits)
 The Centripetal Force due to gravity of Earth (FG ) is equal to
Circular Motion
 According to Newton's second law, an object moves with
constant speed in a straight line unless acted on by a force.

 To make an object move in a circle with constant speed, a

force that is directed toward the center of the circle must act
on the object.

 For example, swinging a ball in a

circle overhead requires an
inward force. In the figure, the
tension in the string is shown to
provide that force.
Circular Motion
 The force acting on the ball is always perpendicular to the
motion of the ball. Therefore, it changes the ball's direction,
but not its speed.

 Since the ball is acted on by a force that is directed toward the

center of the circle, it follows that the ball must be
accelerating toward the center of the circle.

 The acceleration resulting from the center-directed force is

referred to as the centripetal acceleration(acp) , where the
subscript "cp" stands for centripetal.
Circular Motion
 From experience, you know that the faster a car goes around a
curve, the more you feel pushed or pulled to one side or the
other. Similarly, the tighter the curve, the greater the
acceleration.

 Based on these observations, we see that the magnitude of an

object's centripetal acceleration depends on both the speed of
the object and the radius of the circle in which it moves.

 Experiments and mathematical calculations show that the

magnitude of the centripetal acceleration is equal to the speed
squared divided by the radius.
Circular Motion
 Therefore, when an object moves with a speed v in a circle of
radius r its centripetal acceleration is

© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc.

 Newton's second law states that force equals mass times

acceleration. Therefore, the force that causes circular motion,
referred to as the centripetal force, is the mass times the
centripetal acceleration.
Circular Motion
  The magnitude of the Centripetal Force ( is given by the following
equation:

Where
= is the speed of motion of the satellite in orbit
= the mass of satellite
= is the radius of satellite rotation

 Summarizing: During circular motion, the centripetal force has a

constant magnitude () and is always directed toward the center
of the circle. In addition, the centripetal force is always
perpendicular to the tangential velocity of the object in circular
motion.
Circular Satellite Orbits
 Now, using the formulas for the above two forces, we see that a
satellite will remain in a fixed circular orbit if the two forces are
equal to each other, otherwise, the satellite will not travel in a
circular orbit and may possibly hit Earth’s surface or escape Earth
gravity. Using this, we get the following:

 This gives a formula for evaluating the needed speed of a satellite to

maintain a circular orbit around Earth in terms of the radius of
satellite orbit or the opposite:

The quantity μ=G⋅ME is called Keppler’s Constant.

Circular Satellite Orbits
 Since a satellite in a circular orbit around Earth with radius
rs travels over a circle, the total distance travelled in a
complete orbit is ( 2π ⋅ rs ).

So, the period of rotation is

Planetary Motion and Orbits
 Johannes Kepler (1571 - 1630)
Elliptical Satellite Orbits
 The general form of a satellite orbit is an elliptical orbit, which means
that the distance from the satellite to the center of Earth (or to the surface
of Earth) changes continuously as the satellite moves in orbit. An
elliptical orbit has two focal points (as compared to a single “focal point”
in the case of circular orbit which the center of the circle). Earth is
located in one of the focal points of an elliptical orbit.

 Figure 1 shows the geometry and characteristics of an elliptical

orbit. F1 and F2 are called the focal points of the ellipse, a is called the
semi-major axis, b is the semi-minor axis, and e is the eccentricity
Elliptical Satellite Orbits
Elliptical Satellite Orbits
The first person to depict the elliptical motion of planets around
the sun was Kepler who came up with his laws of planetary
motion in the 1960’s. These laws apply to any object of
negligible mass that orbits a much larger mass as it is the case for
satellites orbiting Earth. Newton then confirmed that Kepler’s
laws are compatible with his gravitational law.
Elliptical Satellite Orbits
 Some geometric terms:
 Apogee - point on the orbit where the satellite is furthest from
Earth
Apogee Altitude=Ra-RE and Ra=a (1 + e), where e is
eccentricity and RE is the earth's radius and a is the
semimajor axis
 Perigee - point on the orbit where the satellite is closest to
Earth
 Perigee Altitude=Rp-RE and Rp=a (1 - e)
 Semi-major axis - distance from the center of the ellipse to the
apogee or perigee (a)
 Semi-minor axis (b)
 Eccentricity(e) - distance from the center of the ellipse to one
focus / semi-major axis (ε)
Kepler’s “Laws”
 Kepler’s 3 laws state the following:

• Kepler’s First Law

All planets move in elliptical orbits with the Sun at one focus
 defines the shape of orbits
Kepler’s “Laws”
 Kepler’s 3 laws state the following:

• Kepler’s Second Law

o The orbital speed of a planet varies so that a line joining the Sun
and the planet will sweep out equal areas in equal time intervals

oThe closer a planet is to the Sun, the faster it moves

Kepler’s “Laws”
  Kepler’s 3 laws state the following:
• Kepler’s Third Law
o The amount of time a planet takes to orbit the Sun is
related to its orbit's size
o The square of the period (P), is proportional to the cube of
the semi-major axis (a),

Given by

Were μ=G⋅ME =3.986*105

Elliptical Satellite Orbits
   These laws allowed the derivation of the location of the satellite at
different points during its orbit using the following set of equations

Distance between satellite and Earth

 Relation between the semi-major axis(a), semi-minor axis(b),

and eccentricity(e)

 The velocity of the satellite

 The orbital period Were μ=G⋅ME =3.986*105

Elliptical Satellite Orbits
Example :
A satellite orbits Earth in an elliptical orbit a = 12522 km and e =
0.32. The plain of satellite orbit is the same plane of Earth’s equator
and the direction of satellite orbit is in the same direction of Earth’s
orbit (i.e., the satellite orbits from W to E).

Find the following:

a) If the satellite was on longitude 26E when it was in its perigee
point, over which longitude will it be when it reaches the next
apogee?
b) The speed at which the satellite will be traveling at the apogee and
perigee points
c) The speed of the satellite when its height is height above Earth’s
surface is 4000 km.
d) The height of the satellite above Earth’s surface when its speed is
4.5 km/s.
Math Review: Ellipses
The points F1 & F2 are each a focus(foci) of the ellipse
 Located a distance c from the center
 Sum of r1 and r2 is constant

Longest distance through center is the major axis (2a)

 a is called the semi-major axis

Shortest distance through center is the minor axis, (2b)

 b is called the semi-minor axis
• The eccentricity is defined as e = (c/a)
– For a circle, e = 0
– The range of values of the eccentricity for
ellipses is 0 < e < 1
– The higher the value of e, the longer and
thinner the ellipse 
Typical Ellipse
Locating a Satellite from an Earth Station (Look Angles)

 It is very important for someone who works in the field of

satellites to be able to locate a satellite in the sky in order to
point an antenna at it and possibly be able to track it as it
moves in the sky if it is not a GEO satellite.

 The standard format for determining the location of a satellite

in the sky is called the determination of the “look angles”.

 These look angles determine the position that the observer of

a satellite has to point his antenna to be able to
receive/transmit to the satellite.
Locating a Satellite from an Earth Station (Look Angles)

The look angles are two angles called:

• Azimuth (AZ): This is the angle measured in the plane parallel to the
horizon measure from the polar north (the top-most point on Earth)
going clockwise. So, this angle has a value between 0° and 360° such
that North is 0°, East is 90°, South is 180°, and West is 270°.

• Elevation (EL): This is the angle measured in the plane

perpendicular to the horizon measure from the horizon going up
towards to the vertical line to the horizon. So, this angle has a value
between –90° and +90° such that the horizontal direction is 0°,
Vertically upwards +90°, vertically downwards is –90°.
Locating a Satellite from an Earth Station (Look Angles)
Locating a Satellite from an Earth Station (Look Angles)

 In addition to these angles, it is usually useful to

know the distance from the Earth Station (or
observer) to the Satellite for some important
computations related to signal attenuation for
example.

• Distance (d): This is the distance from the

observer or Earth station to the satellite. This
distance is equal to the satellite altitude (height of
satellite above Earth’s surface) if the observer is
standing exactly under the satellite (the satellite
appears exactly above the observer) and is greater
than the satellite altitude if the satellite is not
exactly above the observer.
Locating a Satellite from an Earth Station (Look Angles)
In the process of computing the Azimuth, Elevation, and Distance to the
satellite, two angles that are not important by themselves but are important
for the computation of these quantities must be evaluated.

• Earth’s Central Angle (γ): This is the angle at the center of Earth
between the location of the Earth station and the location of the satellite
(or what we call subsatellite point).
Locating a Satellite from an Earth Station (Look Angles)
In the process of computing the Azimuth, Elevation, and Distance to the
satellite, two angles that are not important by themselves but are important
for the computation of these quantities must be evaluated.

• The intermediate angle (α): This is the angle between the North or
South direction and the sub-satellite point. This angle is always between
0° and 180°. The Azimuth is computed from this angle.
Locating a Satellite from an Earth Station (Look Angles)
These angles and quantities are shown in the following figure:
Satellite Coordinate
 Latitude: Angular distance, measured in degrees, north or
south of the equator. L from -90 to +90 (or from 90S to 90N)
 Longitude: Angular distance, measured in degrees, from a
given reference longitudinal line (Greenwich, London). I from 0
to 360E (or 180W to 180E)
Locating a Satellite from an Earth Station (Look Angles)
The parameters needed to find the Azimuth, Elevation, and Distance to the
satellite are the following:

 Earth Station Location

• LE = Latitude of Earth station (Degrees) [North angles are Positive and
South are Negative]
• le = longitude of Earth station (Degrees) [East angles are Positive and
West are Negative]

 Sub-Satellite Point
• LS = Latitude of Sub-Satellite point (Degrees) [North angles are
Positive and South are Negative]
• ls = longitude of Sub-Satellite point (Degrees) [East angles are Positive
and West are Negative]

• rs = Radius of Satellite (km) = Satellite altitude (as) + Radius of Earth (rs)

Locating a Satellite from an Earth Station (Look Angles)
The resulting quantities from the following measurements are
EL = Elevation angle (Degrees)
AZ = Azimuth angle from North (Degrees)
d = Distance between Satellite and Earth Station (km)

• First, we have to find the Earth’s Central Angle (γ) using the
following relation

• This allows us to compute the distance to the satellite (d) given by

 Locating a Satellite from an Earth Station (Look Angles)
When the distance to the satellite is found, we can find the Elevation Angle
(EL) which is either positive or negative depending on the location of the
satellite with respect to the Earth Station

Important Note:
The Elevation Angle (EL) in the above derivation must be positive (> 0°) for the satellite to
be visible. This is practically inaccurate because for low angles (0° – 5°), the satellite is so
low near the horizon that the received signal from that satellite (or the received signal by the
satellite from Earth) is highly attenuated. In fact, it is usually considered that the minimum
angle for a satellite to be visible is 5° for signals in the C band (4 to 8 GHz), 10° for signals
in the Ku band (11 – 14 GHz), and 20°for signals in the Ka band (26 – 40 GHz). Below these
angles, the received signals are unusable.
Parameters for Setting Satellite Orbits
We have learned so far that satellite orbits can be classified into:

1. Circular or Elliptical: Circular Orbits are generally used for commercial

communication satellite while Elliptic Orbits are used for some specialized
satellites (many spy satellites have elliptical orbits). One use of Elliptic
orbits is due to the fact that the satellite slows down when it is near it
apogee, which means that the satellite remains visible at a specific Earth
station for long periods of time in each orbit.

2. LEO, MEO, or HEO Orbits: These descriptions are usually used for
circular orbits of different heights. It is clear that a satellite in an elliptical
orbit may have its complete orbit in one of these heights, however, an
elliptical orbit may partially be in the LEO region for part of the orbit and in
the MEO, or even HEO in other parts of the orbit, especially for highly
elliptical orbits, so some elliptical orbits may not fit in the classification of
LEO, MEO, or HEO if the difference in altitude between the apogee and
perigee points is significantly high.
Parameters for Setting Satellite Orbits
 However, these classifications are not sufficient to determine the
exact orbit of a satellite. That is, there exist an infinite number of
orbits that are circular, elliptical, LEO, MEO, or HEO. So, the above
are not sufficient to indicate the exact orbit of a satellite. Three more
parameters are needed for this task considering only circular orbits.
These parameters are:

3. The Orbit Inclination: The inclination of an orbit is the angle the

plane of the orbit makes with the plane of Earth’s Equator. So, an orbit in
the same plane of the equator (called an Equatorial/Synchronous orbit)
has an inclination of 0°, while an orbit that passes over the North and
South poles (called a Polar orbit) has an inclination of 90°, other orbits
that are different from equatorial and polar orbits have inclinations
between 0° and 90°.
Parameters for Setting Satellite Orbits
 Equatorial/Synchronous orbit versus Polar orbit

Equatorial
Parameters for Setting Satellite Orbits
The following figure shows orbits with different inclination
angles

 Inclination of Blue = 0°, Green = 18°, Red = 36°, Cyan = 54°,

Parameters for Setting Satellite Orbits
4. The Inclination Phase: Not all orbits with the same inclination are
the same. That is, there are an infinite number of different orbits with the
same inclination. For example, two satellite orbits may have the same
inclination of 30° but one of them crosses the plane of the equator at the
longitudes of 0° and 180°, while the other crosses the plane of the
equator at the longitudes of 10° and 190°.
Parameters for Setting Satellite Orbits
The following figure shows orbits with same inclination angle but with
different inclination phases.

 Phase of Blue = 0°, Green = 10°, Red = 20°, Cyan = 30°, Purple =
40°, Black = 50°
 All orbits have the same inclination of 60°.
Parameters for Setting Satellite Orbits
5. The Satellite Phase in its Orbit: Even for a particular orbit, multiple
satellites may have that same orbit but each one of them may be at a
different point in that orbit. That is, the different satellites are following
each other in the same orbit.
Parameters for Setting Satellite Orbits
The following figure shows different satellites in the same orbits but at different
phase of the orbit.

 Orbital Phase of Blue = 0°, Green = 60°, Red = 120°, Cyan = 180°, Purple =
240°, Black = 300°
 All satellites have the same orbit with the same inclination of 60° and the
same inclination phase of 0°.