ORBITAL ANALYSIS OF A SUN SYNCHRONOUS SMALL SATELLITE

Emery I. Reeves Visiting Scholar,

U.S. Air Force Academy

Darren D. Garber

United States Air Force Academy, Colorado 80840

ABSTRACT

The JAWSAT (Joint Academy Weber State Satellite) spacecraft's proposed orbit is sun synchronous with an initial nodal placement that achieves a 'High Noon' configuration. Through the use of a plasma jet, it is planned to shift the orbit plane 90 degrees until a 'Dawn - Dusk' orbit is achieved. An analysis of the solar, lunar and geopotential gravitational perturbations that will affect the transfer from the initial High Noon to the final Dawn - Dusk orbit has yielded a complex interplay between nodal placement, inclination and the resulting corresponding rates of change of these orbital elements. The analysis of this transfer orbit was completed by both numerical and analytical means.

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