Solar radiation pressure perturbations for Earth satellites II. an approximate method to model penumbra transitions and their long-term orbital effects on LAGEOS

Details Solar radiation pressure perturbations for Earth satellites II. an approximate method to model penumbra transitions and their long-term orbital effects on LAGEOS Solar radiation pressure perturbations for Earth satellites II. an approximate method to model penumbra transitions and their long-term orbital effects on LAGEOS

May 1994

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1994a%26a...285..333v&link_type=abstract

Astronomy and Astrophysics 285, 333-343 (1994)

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astrophysics

13

Celestial Mechanics, Space Vehicles, Atmospheric Effects

Scientific paper

We have developed an approximate version of our theory (Vokrouhlicky et al. 1993c) for the perturbing force due to solar radiation pressure undergone by artificial Earth satellites when they cross the penumbra zones. The relative discrepancies in the instantaneous acceleration values with respect to the complete theory are generally smaller than 1%, and no systematic pattern resulting into spurious long-term perturbations arises. At the same time, the approximate approach leads to a considerable gain in the computing time needed for evaluating the perturbing force, typically an improvement by a factor 10 to 50. As a consequence, the theory is now suitable for implementation in the orbit analysis/determination codes used in space geodesy. Moreover, it can be applied to study the long-term perturbations associated with the penumbra effect on the orbital semimajor axis of LAGEOS. We have thus assessed that the additional long-term along-track perturbations resulting from the penumbra transition, with respect to those predicted by a simple step-like model, are of the order of several times 10^-13^ m/s^2^, smaller than - but not negligible when compared to - the other radiative forces which contribute to LAGEOS' semimajor axis residuals. The long-term perturbations are due to the asymmetry between entrance into and exit from the Earth's shadow, resulting from different conditions of the atmosphere at opposite sides of the Earth. It appears likely that this penumbra effect plays a role in determining the relative sizes of the along-track acceleration spikes which have been detected when LAGEOS crosses the Earth's shadow.

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