Orbital Mechanics with Numerit

Cowell's Method for Earth Satellites

This Numerit computer program (cowell1) implements Cowell's method for satellites in
Earth orbit. Cowell's method is a special perturbation technique which numerically
integrates the vector system of second-order, nonlinear differential equations of motion of
a satellite given by
(1) a(r, v, t) = r

(r, r

, t) = a
g
(r, t) + a
d
(r, v, t) + a
sm
(r, t) + a
srp
(r, t)

where
t = universal time
r = inertial position vector of the satellite
v = inertial velocity vector of the satellite
a
g
= acceleration due to gravity
a
d
= acceleration due to aerodynamic drag
a
sm
= acceleration due to the sun and moon
a
srp
= acceleration due to solar radiation pressure


The satellite's orbital motion is modeled with respect to a true-of-date (TOD) Earth-
centered-inertial (ECI) coordinate system. The origin of this system is the center of the
Earth and the fundamental plane is the Earth's equator. The x-axis is aligned with the
true-of-date Vernal Equinox, the z-axis is aligned with the Earth's spin axis and the y-axis
completes this orthogonal, right-handed coordinate system.

This application uses a spherical harmonic representation of the Earth's geopotential
function given by
(2)
(r, , ) =

r
+

r

C
0
n
|

\
R
r
|
|
.
n
P
0
n
(u) +

r
n
|

\
R
r
|
|
.
n
P
m
n
(u){S
m
n
sinm + C
m
n
cos m}
m=1

n=1

n=1

where is the geocentric latitude of the satellite, is the geocentric east longitude of the
satellite and r = r = x
2
+ y
2
+ z
2
is the geocentric distance of the satellite. In this
expression the S's and C's are harmonic coefficients of the geopotential, and the P's are
associated Legendre polynomials of degree n and order m with argument u = sin.

The software calculates the satellite's acceleration due to the Earth's gravity field with a
vector equation derived from the gradient of the potential function expressed as
(3) a
g
(r, t) = (r, t)

This acceleration vector is a combination of pure two-body or point mass gravity
acceleration and the gravitational acceleration due to higher order nonspherical terms in
the Earth's geopotential.
In terms of the Earth's geopotential , the inertial rectangular cartesian components of
the satellite's acceleration vector are as follows:
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Orbital Mechanics with Numerit
(4)
x

=
|

\
1
r

r

z
r
2
x
2
+ y
2

|
|
|
.
x
|

\
1
x
2
+ y
2

|
||
.
y
y

=
|

\
1
r

r

z
r
2
x
2
+ y
2

|
|
|
.
y
|

\
1
x
2
+ y
2

|
||
.
x
z

=
|

\
1
r

r
|
|
.
z +
|

\
x
2
+ y
2
r
2

|
|
|
.

The three partial derivatives of the geopotential with respect to r, , are given by
(5)

r
=
1
r
|

r
|
|
.
N
|

\
R
r
|
|
. n=2

n
(n + 1)
n
(C
m
n
cos m + S
m
n
sinm)P
m
n
(sin)
m=0

=
|

r
|
|
.
N
|

\
R
r
|
|
. n=2

n
n
(C
m
n
cos m + S
m
n
sinm){P
m+1
n
(sin) mtanP
m
n
(sin)}
m=0

=
|

r
|
|
.
N
|

\
R
r
|
|
. n=2

n
n
m(S
m
n
cos m C
m
n
sinm)P
m
n
(sin)
m=0

where
R = radius of the Earth
r = geocentric distance of the satellite
S
m
n
, C
m
n
= harmonic coefficients
= geocentric latitude of the satellite = sin
1
(z r)
= east longitude of the satellite =
g
= right ascension of the satellite = tan
1
(y x)

g
= right ascension of Greenwich


Right ascension is measure positive east of the vernal equinox, longitude is measured
positive east of Greenwich, and geographic latitude is positive above the Earth's equator
and negative below.

For m the coefficients are called zonal terms, when m = 0 = n the coefficients are called
sectorial terms, and for n the coefficients are called tesseral terms. > m 0

The Legendre polynomials with argument sin are computed using recursion
relationships given by:
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Orbital Mechanics with Numerit
(6)
P
0
n
(sin) =
1
n
[(2n 1)sinP
0
n1
(sin) (n 1)P
0
n2
(sin)]
P
n
n
(sin) = (2n 1)cosP
n1
n1
(sin) m 0, m < n
P
m
n
(sin) = P
m
n2
(sin) + (2n 1)cos P
m1
n1
(sin) m 0, m = n

where the first few associated Legendre functions are given by

P
0
0
(sin) = 1, P
0
1
(sin) = sin, P
1
1
(sin) = cos

and P
j
i
= 0 for j > i.

The trigonometric arguments are determined from expansions given by
(7)
sinm = 2cos sin(m 1) sin(m 2)
cos m = 2cos cos(m 1) cos(m 2)
mtan = (m 1)tan + tan

Aerodynamic Drag

The acceleration experienced by an Earth satellite due to atmospheric drag can be
computed using the following vector expression:
(8) a
d
(r, v, t) =
1
2
(r, t) v
r
v
r
C
d
A
m

where
= gravitational constant of the Earth
v
r
= satellite velocity vector relative to the atmosphere
= atmospheric density
C
d
= drag coefficient of the satellite
A = reference cross-sectional area of the satellite
m = mass of the satellite


During orbit propagation the software uses constant values for the mass, drag coefficient
and the reference area of the satellite. Please note that the reference area is measured
perpendicular to the relative velocity vector.

The aerodynamic drag algorithm assumes that the atmosphere rotates at the same angular
speed as the Earth. With this assumption the relative velocity vector is given by
(9)
v
r
= v r

where is the inertial rotation vector of the Earth. The angular velocity vector of the
Earth is given by
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Orbital Mechanics with Numerit
=
e

0
0
1
(
(
(

where
e
= 7.292115486E 5 radians per second.

The cross product expansion of the previous equation gives the three components of the
relative velocity vector as follows:
(10)
v
r
=

v
x
+
e
r
y
v
y

e
r
x
v
z
(
(
(
(

The calculation of atmospheric density in this computer program is based on the 1976
U.S. Standard atmosphere.

Sun and Moon Perturbations

The acceleration contributions of the Sun and Moon represented by point masses is given
by the following expression:
(11) a
sm
(r, t) =
m
|

\
r
mb
r
mb
3
+
r
em
r
em
3
|
|
|
|
.

s
|

\
r
s b
r
s b
3
+
r
es
r
es
3
|
|
|
|
.

where

m
= gravitational constant of the Moon

s
= gravitational constant of the Sun
r
mb
= position vector from the Moon to the satellite
r
s b
= position vector from the Sun to the satellite
r
em
= position vector from the Earth to the Moon
r
es
= position vector from the Earth to the Sun


The solar and lunar ephemerides used in this program are computer implementations of
the numerical method described in "Low-Precision Formulae for Planetary Positions", T.
C. Van Flandern and K. F. Pulkkinen, The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series,
41:391-411, November 1979.

The values of the gravitational constants are as follows:

m
= 4902.793
km
3
sec
2

s
= 132712438000
km
3
sec
2


Solar Radiation Pressure Perturbation

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Orbital Mechanics with Numerit
We can define a solar radiation constant for any satellite as a function of its size, mass
and surface reflective properties according to the equation:
(12)
C
srp
= P
s
a
2
A
m

where
= reflectivity constant
P
s
= solar radiation constant
a = astronomical unit
A = surface area normal to the incident radiation
m = mass of the satellite


The reflectivity constant is a dimensionless number between 0 and 2. For a perfectly
absorbent body = 1, for a perfectly reflective body = 2, and for a translucent body
< 1. The reflectivity constant for an aluminum surface is approximately 1.96.

The value of the solar radiation pressure on a perfectly absorbing satellite surface at a
distance of one Astronomical Unit from the Sun is

P
s
= 4.4 10
3
kg
km sec
2


The acceleration vector of the satellite due to solar radiation pressure is given by:
(13)
a
srp
= C
srp
r
sat toSun
r
3
sat toSun

where
r
sat toSun
= r
sat
r
EarthtoSun
r
sat
= geocentric, inertial position vector of the satellite
r
EarthtoSun
= geocentric, inertial position vector of the Sun


During the integration process, the software must determine if the satellite is in Earth
shadow or sunlight. Obviously, there can be no solar radiation perturbation during Earth
eclipse of the satellite orbit. The software makes use of a shadow parameter to determine
eclipse conditions.

This parameter is defined by the following expression:
(14)
=
r
sat
r
es
r
es
sign(r
sat
r
es
)

where r
sat
is the geocentric, inertial position vector of the satellite and r is the geocentric,
inertial position vector of the Sun relative to the satellite.
es

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Orbital Mechanics with Numerit
The critical values of the shadow parameter for the penumbra (subscript p) and umbra
part (subscript u) of the Earth's shadow are given by:
(15)

p
= r
sat
sin
p

u
= r
sat
sin
u

The penumbra and umbra shadow angles are found from:
(16)

p
= +
p

u
=
u

These are the angles between the geocentric anti-Sun vector and the vector to a satellite at
the time of shadow entrance or exit.

If we represent the shadow as a cylinder, the shadow angle is given by
(17) = sin
1
|

\
r
e
r
sat
|
|
|
.

The corresponding penumbra and umbra cone angles are as follows:
(18)

p
= sin
1
|

\
r
s
+ r
e
r
es
|
|
|
.

u
= sin
1
|

\
r
s
r
e
r
es
|
|
|
.

where
r
e
= radius of the Earth
r
s
= radius of the Sun
r
es
= distance from the Earth to the Sun


If the condition
u
<
p
is true, the satellite is in the penumbra part of the Earth's
shadow, and if the inequality 0
u
is true, the satellite is in the umbra part of the
shadow. If the absolute value of the shadow parameter is larger than the penumbra value,
the satellite is in full sunlight. The shadow calculations also assume that the Earth's
atmosphere increases the radius of the Earth by two percent.

This computer program uses a simple ASCII simulation definition data file. This data file
contains such information as the initial calendar date and universal time, the initial
classical orbital elements of the satellite and so forth. The following is a typical data file
named cowell2.dat. You can modify (but not delete) the lines of text annotation but
the numerical data must appear on the correct line of the file. The software expects to
find exactly 62 lines of information in these files.

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Orbital Mechanics with Numerit
The software can accomodate gravity models up to degree and order 18. By default it
reads a data file named egm96.dat. The user can change this by modifying the call to
the readgrav function in the main program.

initial calendar date (month, day, year)
3,21,1992

initial universal time (hours, minutes, seconds)
0,0,0

simulation duration (days)
1

graphics step size (minutes)
10

rkf error tolerance (non-dimensional)
1.0e-10

degree of gravity model (zonals)
0

order of gravity model (tesserals)
0

semimajor axis (kilometers)
20000

orbital eccentricity (non-dimensional)
0

orbital inclination (degrees)
0

argument of perigee (degrees)
0

right ascension of the ascending node (degrees)
0

true anomaly (degrees)
0

spacecraft mass (kilograms)
5000

spacecraft cross-sectional area (square meters)
1000

drag coefficient
2

reflectivity constant (non-dimensional)
1.95

model solar point-mass gravity (1 = yes, 0 = no)
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Orbital Mechanics with Numerit
0

model lunar point-mass gravity (1 = yes, 0 = no)
0

model solar radiation pressure (1 = yes, 0 = no)
1

model atmospheric drag (1 = yes, 0 = no)
0

The software will display both the initial and final conditions of the simulation. The
following is the draft display for this example.

program cowell1

< Cowell's method for Earth satellites >

initial conditions

calendar date January 1, 1984
universal time 00 h 00 m 00 s

semimajor axis 24421.14 kilometers
eccentricity 0.7265427
inclination 28.5 degrees
argument of perigee 0 degrees
raan 45 degrees
true anomaly 0 degrees

final conditions

calendar date January 11, 1984
universal time 00 h 00 m 00 s

semimajor axis 24334.4565318 kilometers
eccentricity 0.725134905843
inclination 28.4933715552 degrees
argument of perigee 5.73540383852 degrees
raan 41.4580114228 degrees
true anomaly 225.156505382 degrees

degree of gravity model 2
order of gravity model 0

simulation includes solar point-mass gravity perturbations

The computer program will also display the long-term evolution of several orbital
elements. The following are plots of the orbital elements for this example. This
simulation includes the perturbation due to solar radiation pressure. The "clipping" of the
data occurs whenever the satellite passes through the Earth's shadow.

page8
Orbital Mechanics with Numerit
s
e
m
i
m
a
j
o
r

a
x
i
s

(
k
m
)
simulation time (days)
24330
24340
24350
24360
24370
24380
24390
24400
24410
24420
0 2 4 6 8 10

Figure 1. Semimajor Axis


e
c
c
e
n
t
r
i
c
i
t
y
simulation time (days)
0.725
0.7252
0.7254
0.7256
0.7258
0.726
0.7262
0.7264
0 2 4 6 8 10

Figure 2. Orbital Eccentricity




page9
Orbital Mechanics with Numerit
i
n
c
l
i
n
a
t
i
o
n

(
d
e
g
r
e
e
s
)
simulation time (days)
28.48
28.48
28.49
28.49
28.5
28.5
28.51
0 2 4 6 8 10

Figure 3. Inclination



a
r
g
u
m
e
n
t

o
f

p
e
r
i
g
e
e

(
d
e
g
r
e
e
s
)
simulation time (days)
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
0 2 4 6 8 10

Figure 4. Argument of Perigee









page10
Orbital Mechanics with Numerit
R
A
A
N

(
d
e
g
r
e
e
s
)
simulation time (days)
41
41.5
42
42.5
43
43.5
44
44.5
45
0 2 4 6 8 10

Figure 5. Right Ascension of the Ascending Node


The next two plots illustrate the geodetic perigee and apogee altitudes as a function of
simulation time.

p
e
r
i
g
e
e

a
l
t
i
t
u
d
e

(
k
m
)
simulation time (days)
300
302
304
306
308
310
312
314
0 2 4 6 8 10

Figure 6. Perigee Altitude







page11
Orbital Mechanics with Numerit
page12
a
p
o
g
e
e

a
l
t
i
t
u
d
e

(
k
m
)
simulation time (days)
35550
35600
35650
35700
35750
35800
0 2 4 6 8 10

Figure 7. Apogee Altitude