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Stable Constellations of Frozen Elliptical Inclined Lunar Orbits

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Abstract

Higher altitude orbits (in the 500 to 20,000 km range) at the Moon are dominated by Earth perturbations and result in motions that do not ascribe to the standard notions of orbits dominated by nonspherical gravity effects (such as from oblateness). This fact complicates orbit design of lunar orbiter constellations that require specific and persistent coverage over a selected lunar region. Using a combination of analytical theory and numerical simulation, a technique is developed for designing a lunar constellation of three spacecraft where two spacecraft are always in view from the lunar surface for the polar regions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, MS 301-125L, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA, 91109-8099, USA

    Todd A. Ely (Senior Engineer, Guidance, Navigation, and Control Section)

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  1. Todd A. Ely
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Correspondence to Todd A. Ely.

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Ely, T.A. Stable Constellations of Frozen Elliptical Inclined Lunar Orbits. J of Astronaut Sci 53, 301–316 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03546355

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03546355

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