Lesson 24
Orbital Dynamics, Part I

Name:faculty Section:M2 Start Time:12:3:49 Instructor:pate Course:355

1) Think about transfering from one planetary type of orbit to another planetary type of orbit. Why are two "kicks" required? What does each kick do? Where (relative to the two planetary orbits) are the kicks required?



2)


Suppose you are a shuttle commander. Your shuttle is in low Earth orbit, and your cargo is a GPS satellite. Your mission is to launch the satellite from low Earth orbit, but then fire its thrusters so that it will end up at the appropriate GPS satellite altitude 20,200 km above the surface of the Earth.

Estimate the Dv ("delta vee") that would be required to get the GPS satellite into the elliptical (yellow) transfer orbit shown. Please state your assumptions!

(Once it attains the yellow elliptical transfer orbit, what would need to occur in order for the GPS satellite to stay in the 20,200 km altitude circular orbit?)




3) If you have an object in orbit about the Sun and you boost it (kick it 'forward') at a given spot on its orbit, the kick will

  1. increase the object's maximum distance from the Sun
  2. make the object's orbit more elliptical
  3. make the object's orbit less elliptical
  4. decrease the average speed of the object



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