Articolo in rivista, 2021, ENG, 10.1016/j.actaastro.2020.11.047

Dynamical properties of the Molniya satellite constellation: Long-term evolution of orbital eccentricity

E. M. Alessi, A. Buzzoni, J. Daquin, A. Carbognani, and G. Tommei

IMATI-CNR, Istituto di Matematica Applicata e Tecnologie Informatiche "E. Magenes", Via Alfonso Corti 12, 20133 Milano, Italy; IFAC-CNR, Istituto di Fisica Applicata "N. Carrara", Via Madonna del Piano 10, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (FI), Italy; INAF-OAS, Osservatorio di Astrofisica e Scienza dello Spazio, Via P. Gobetti 93/3, 40129 Bologna, Italy; naXys, Department of Mathematics, University of Namur, 8 rempart de la Vierge, 5000 Namur, Belgium; Università di Pisa, Dipartimento di Matematica, Largo B. Pontecorvo 5, 56127 Pisa, Italy

The aim of this work is to analyze the orbital evolution of the mean eccentricity given by the Two-Line Elements (TLE) set of the Molniya satellites constellation. The approach is bottom-up, aiming at a synergy between the observed dynamics and the mathematical modeling. Being the focus the long-term evolution of the eccentricity, the dynamical model adopted is a doubly-averaged formulation of the third-body perturbation due to Sun and Moon, coupled with the oblateness effect on the orientation of the satellite. The numerical evolution of the eccentricity, obtained by a two-degree-of-freedom time dependent model assuming different orders in the series expansion of the third-body effect, is compared against the mean evolution given by the TLE. The results show that, despite being highly elliptical orbits, the second order expansion catches extremely well the behavior. Also, the lunisolar effect turns out to be non-negligible for the behavior of the longitude of the ascending node and the argument of pericenter. Finally, a frequency series analysis is proposed to show the main contributions that can be detected from the observational data.

Acta astronautica 179 , pp. 659–669

Keywords

Molniya, Eccentricity evolution, Highly elliptical orbits, Third-body perturbation, Space situational awareness

CNR authors

Alessi Elisa Maria

CNR institutes

IFAC – Istituto di fisica applicata "Nello Carrara", IMATI – Istituto di matematica applicata e tecnologie informatiche "Enrico Magenes"

ID: 438567

Year: 2021

Type: Articolo in rivista

Creation: 2020-12-09 13:57:20.000

Last update: 2022-02-02 18:07:44.000

External IDs

CNR OAI-PMH: oai:it.cnr:prodotti:438567

DOI: 10.1016/j.actaastro.2020.11.047

ISI Web of Science (WOS): WOS:000604254600060

Scopus: 2-s2.0-85097587253