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Rotational locks for near-symmetric satellites

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Abstract

The results of Chernous'ko are extended numerically in order to investigate the character of locked-in rotational motion for orbits of arbitrary eccentricity. It is found that for certain ranges of eccentricity, the rotational lock for the higher spin rates in stronger than that of a 1/1 rotational lock in a circular orbit. Furthermore the limiting values of the instantaneous spin rate of the satellite are established for any given rotational lock.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Blacksburg, Va, USA

    Frederick H. Lutze Jr. (Assistant Professor, Department of Aerospace Engineering) & Matt W. Abbitt Jr. (Graduate Student, Department of Engineering Mechanics)

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  1. Frederick H. Lutze Jr.
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  2. Matt W. Abbitt Jr.
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Lutze, F.H., Abbitt, M.W. Rotational locks for near-symmetric satellites. Celestial Mechanics 1, 31–35 (1969). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01230630

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01230630

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