Re: Orbital Mechanics Question.

From: Bill Bard (wbard@tampabay.rr.com)
Date: Sat May 20 2000 - 05:20:40 PDT

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    on 5/20/00 1:45 AM, tlj18@juno.com at tlj18@juno.com wrote:
    
    > 
    > Can a satellite's inclination ever decrease over time, without thruster
    > firings or other interventions?
    > 
    
    This normally happens for satellites at high altitudes where the sun and
    moon pull on the satellite. Some military geosynchronous satellites like
    Fleetsat were launched with an inclination of like 10 deg and the sun/moon
    would first pull it towards 0 deg and then later increase the inclination.
    I'm not sure what the Fleetsat's inclination currently are, but I think they
    were at least 20 to 30 deg.
    
    Bill Bard
    wbard@tampabay.rr.com
    
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