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A Gravity Model for Navigation Close to Asteroids and Comets

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Abstract

The classical gravity model used for planetary navigation is a harmonic expansion of Legendre polynomials and associated functions. The harmonic expansion diverges when the orbital radius is less than that of the Brillouin sphere. An alternative method for computing gravitational acceleration is described, and shape models of a brick and the asteroid Eros are used as examples. Computation is reduced to a surface integral by first analytically integrating with respect to r, assuming constant density. The result is evaluated far more rapidly. Results are compared to those generated from a polyhedron model and to those generated from a classical harmonic expansion.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Loyola Marymount University, USA

    Connie Weeks (Professor of Mathematics)

  2. Jet Propulsion Laboratory, USA

    James K. Miller (Member of the Navigation Systems Section)

Authors
  1. Connie Weeks
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  2. James K. Miller
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Weeks, C., Miller, J.K. A Gravity Model for Navigation Close to Asteroids and Comets. J of Astronaut Sci 52, 381–389 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03546369

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03546369

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