Re: moving sats to a different plane
Leo Barhorst (l.j.c.barhorst@amersfoort.bouwinfra.nl)
Tue, 01 Sep 1998 15:51:02 +0000
Jeff Hunt wrote:
> What's involved in moving a launched sat designated for a given plane to
> be moved to another plane of the same inclination. Is it more than
> raising or lowering the orbit to change the period?
>
By raising or lowering the orbit the period is indeed changed, but
also the rate at which the orbit precesses around the globe is
increased or decreased. Just wait till the orbit has moved to the
desired plane and raise the sat to the operational height
A faster way is to launch the sats in an orbit at a different
inclination. Then the precession of the orbit is much more due to the
'bulge' at the earth's equator.
I don't have the proper formula's at hand right now, perhaps someone
else can give them.
Greetings
Leo Barhorst