Lagrange's planetary equations for the motion of electrostatically charged spacecraft

Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy

Scientific paper

Rate now

  [ 0.00 ] – not rated yet Voters 0   Comments 0

Details

Lorentz Force, Artificial Satellite, Lagrange’S Planetary Equations, Planetary Escape, Lorentz Spacecraft

Scientific paper

A spacecraft that generates an electrostatic charge on its surface in a planetary magnetic field will be subject to a perturbative Lorentz force. Active modulation of the surface charge can take advantage of this electromagnetic perturbation to modify or to do work on the spacecraft’s orbit. Lagrange’s planetary equations are derived using the Lorentz force as the perturbation on a Keplerian orbit, incorporating orbital inclination and true anomaly for the first time for an electrostatically charged vehicle. The planetary equations reveal that orbital inclination is a second-order effect on the perturbation, explaining results found in earlier studies through numerical integration. All of the orbital elements are coupled, but the coupling notably does not depend on the magnitude of the electrostatic charge or on the strength of the magnetic field. Analytical expressions that characterize this coupling are tested with a propellantless escape example at Jupiter. A closed-form solution exists that constrains the set of equatorial orbits for which planetary escape is possible, and a sufficient condition is identified for escape from inclined orbits. The analytical solutions agree with results from the numerically integrated equations of motion to within a fraction of a percent.

No associations

LandOfFree

Say what you really think

Search LandOfFree.com for scientists and scientific papers. Rate them and share your experience with other people.

Rating

Lagrange's planetary equations for the motion of electrostatically charged spacecraft does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with Lagrange's planetary equations for the motion of electrostatically charged spacecraft, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Lagrange's planetary equations for the motion of electrostatically charged spacecraft will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

     

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1120651

  Search
All data on this website is collected from public sources. Our data reflects the most accurate information available at the time of publication.