Summary of the material related to the Project
This material is a summary of the lecture and a few related suggestion for the project. This does not replace the text; it is simply meant as
supplemental material.
Recall that in class we had the following. Starting from basic equations
from motion under central force; i.e., a satellite (mass m) at a distance of r
from the center of the earth (mass M ) under the force of gravity only, we
have
GM m
= m(
r r2 )
r2
0 = m(r + 2r )
(1)
(2)
the second equation can be written as
= r2 + 2rr = 0
r(r + 2r )
or
d 2
r = 0 r2 = constant = ho
(3)
dt
where ho - as you will see - will be the angular momentum per unit mass.
Now playing with equation (1) above, and skipping a bunch of stuff from
differential equations (change of variable, chair rule, second order constant
coefficient with constant forcing functions, etc), we get
u=
1
MG
= C cos + 2
r
h0
(4)
where C depend on initial conditions. So, let us start by setting r = ro and
= 0 as the starting point:
C=
MG
1
2
ro
ho
using this in (4),
u=
1
MG
h2o
= 2 [1 + (
1) cos ]
r
ro GM
h0
(5)
h2o
1
ro GM
(6)
or using
=
we have
u=
1
MG
= 2 [1 + cos ]
r
h0
(7)
In particular, let us release the satellite from a distance of r0 with a
velocity of vo (with velocity orthogonal to the radial line from the satellite
to the center). This means that at the instant of release, r does not change
length (i.e., r = 0). As a result, at this point, v = r so that ho = ro2 o =
ro vo . This relationship; i.e., h = rv holds whenever r and v are orthogonal
(keep this in mind).
Now for a given starting ro , let us consider the resulting path, for different
values of vo . Recall that at the start we have ho = ro vo :
Case 1: vo2 = GM/ro , which results in = 0 from (6). Noting (7), this
results a simple circular motion with a constant radius of r0 . This starting
velocity is called circular velocity;
s
vcirc =
GM
=
ro
gR2
ro
Case 2: 2GM/ro > vo2 GM/ro , which results in 1 > 0 from (6).
For these values of , the motion in (7) is an ellipsoid in which as gets
larger, u gets smaller, thus r gets larger until the = 180 points, in which
we get 1r = Mh2G [1 ]. The earth is one foci of this ellipse, near the starting
0
point.
Case 3: vo2 2 GM/ro , which results in 1 from (6). For these values
of , the motion results in a value of u = 1r = 0 for some < 180 degrees.
That is, the ellipse never closes and the satellite never comes back and goes
into the deep space. The smallest value that results in this escaping of the
earths gravitational field is called the escape velocity:
s
vesc =
2GM
ro
Note that the escape velocity is only about 40% higher that circular
velocity.!
Case 4: GM/ro > vo2 , which results in 0 > 1 (why is it always
bigger than -1?). For these values of , the motion in (7) is an ellipsoid in
which as gets larger, u gets LARGER, thus r gets SMALLER until the
= 180 points, in which we get 1r = Mh2G [1 + ]. The earth is one foci of
0
this ellipse, this time the one farthest from the starting point! (And if it is
slow enough, it can hit the surface of the earth, which is exactly the point
in re-entry)
Now let us focus on elliptical orbits (i.e., 1 > ). After reading the book
carefully, you would know that
During any orbit, the engines are off, and ho is constant (indeed, each
orbit can be characterized by this value). The motion is determined
by the initial position and velocity and the gravitational field.
If you change h (by turning the thrusters on and changing velocity,
for example), you will end up in a different orbit. This is why space
walk is tricky! If you run 10 meters from the space craft (and gain a
bit of velocity), your orbit changes a little and after a while you may
end up being miles from your space craft! Playing catch will be hard.
Since velocity and path are perpendicular at each ends of the elliptical
motion, we have ho = ro vo = r1 v1 where one of the points is for = 0
and the other for = 180
By using = 0 and = 180 in (7), for a given orbit you get
1
rmin
1
rmax
2M G
h20
so if you know your initial values of ro and vo (thus ho ), you can figure
out where your will end up at the other end of the ellipse. Similarly, if
1
1
you had rmin
and rmax
, you can back out what would be the angular
momentum of the orbit and thus the velocities at the two extreme
points.
The time it takes to complete an orbit is (see the book, page 734):
= 2ab
ho , in which a and b are the axes of the elliptical orbit
If you change the velocity at = 0 or = 180, you are simply changing
h and thus the orbit. You know the new h and v while r is the same
(assuming the time it takes to change v is negligible), you can figure
out where the other end of the ellipse will be!
Now let us discuss a simple orbital transfer problem: The satellite is
released from a relatively small r0 with a modest velocity vo where vesc >
v0 > vcirc . You want to go to a circular orbit of rf . The problem is that
3
given the initial h, you will not reach it! (e.g., rf > rmax ), and there are
severe restrictions on how much you can change the velocity every time you
start the thrusters. You can get to rf by changing orbits. For example, once
you get to rmax , turn the thrusters on to increase velocity to go to a higher
orbit. You do this until you get to the distance you want and then use to
thrusters to adjust your velocity for circular motion. Use thruster to change
velocity only at the extremes of the elliptical motion (i.e, at = 0 or 180).
Now you can read the project description for the details.
