AE23211
FUNDAMENTALS OF AEROSPACE
ENGINEERING
ESCAPE VELOCITY
The minimum velocity that a moving body (such as a rocket) must
have to escape from the gravitational field of a celestial body (such
as the earth) and move outward into space.
ESCAPE VELOCITY
ESCAPE VELOCITY
ORBITS
An orbit is a curved, regular, and repeating path that an object
in space, such as a star, planet, moon, or spacecraft, takes
around another one.
An object, natural or artificial, in an orbit is called a satellite.
Artificial satellites are placed in different orbits based on their
utility and objectives.
Orbits can be classified on the basis of altitude and
functionality.
High Earth Orbit, Medium Earth Orbit, and Low Earth Orbit are
the types of orbits based on altitude,
And geostationary orbit, polar orbit, sun-synchronous orbit, etc.
are the types of orbits based on their objectives.
ORBITAL VELOCITY
FUNCTIONAL ASPECTS OF
SATELLITES IN AN ORBIT
Functional aspects of the satellite are achieved through a
combination of factors. These factors essentially govern the
movement of the various types of satellites and their
associated aspects. These factors are:
Altitudes: The height or altitude of the orbit from the surface
of the Earth affects the speed of satellites. The speed of a
satellite with respect to earth is inversely proportional to its
altitude.
Thus, the speed of a satellite placed in Low Earth Orbit will
be greater than that of a satellite placed in a High Earth
Orbit, due to the higher gravitational force of the Earth
acting on the satellite.
For example, NASA’s Aqua satellite requires about 99
minutes to orbit Earth at about 705 kilometres up (Low
Earth Orbit), while a weather satellite about 36,000
kilometres from Earth’s surface takes 23 hours, 56
minutes, and 4 seconds to complete an orbit.
FUNCTIONAL ASPECTS OF
SATELLITES IN AN ORBIT
Eccentricity (e):The eccentricity of an orbit indicates the deviation of the
orbit from a perfect circle. It governs the shape of an orbit.
A circular orbit has zero eccentricity, while a highly eccentric orbit is near to 1
(but always less).
For example, the Molniya orbit has eccentricity (0.722) to maximize viewing
time over high latitudes.
FUNCTIONAL ASPECTS OF
SATELLITES IN AN ORBIT
Orbital inclination: it is the angle between the plane of an orbit and the
equator.
An orbital inclination of 0°is directly above the equator, and 90°crosses right
above the pole.
Polar satellites used for earth observation and scientific research are
inclined nearly 90 degrees to the earth.
FUNCTIONAL ASPECTS OF
SATELLITES IN AN ORBIT
Orbital period: The time taken by a satellite to complete one revolution in its orbit around the Earth is
called an orbital period.
It varies from around 100 minutes for a near-polar Earth-observing satellite to 24 hours for a
geostationary satellite.
Rotational direction of the satellites:
Retrograde motion: When the direction of orbital or rotational motion of a satellite is opposite to the
rotation of its central object (for example, Earth), it is called retrograde motion.
Prograde motion: When the orbital or rotational motion of an object is in the same direction as its
central object, it is called prograde motion.
TYPES OF ORBIT BASED ON
ALTITUDE
There are three types of orbits based on altitudes - High Earth Orbit, Medium Earth Orbit, and Low Earth Orbit.
The speed of a satellite depends upon the height of the orbit from the Earth’s surface.
TYPES OF ORBIT BASED ON
ALTITUDE
High Earth Orbit (HEO)
HEO lies at and beyond 35,786 kilometers from Earth’s surface.
It is a sort of “sweet spot” in which satellite orbit matches the rotation of the Earth.
Application:
A satellite in this orbit seems to stay in place over a single longitude, although it may drift north to south.
This special, high Earth orbit is known as geosynchronous orbit.
Examples: GSAT series of India's indigenously developed communications satellites, used for digital audio, data, and video broadcasting.
TYPES OF ORBIT BASED ON
ALTITUDE
Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)
MEO lies between 2,000 km to 35780 km from the surface of the Earth.
It is also known as Intermediate Circular Orbit.
Two Medium Earth Orbits are the semi-synchronous orbit and the
Molniya orbit.
MEO satellites have orbital periods ranging from 2 to 24 hours.
Application:
Global Positioning System (GPS) is placed in MEO (20200 Km)
Communication satellites too can be placed here.
Galileo (Altitude of 23,222 kilometers).
TYPES OF ORBIT BASED ON
ALTITUDE
Low Earth Orbit (MEO)
It is relatively closer to the Earth’s surface than other orbits.
LEO has an altitude between 160 km to 1000 km above the Earth’s surface.
Satellites in this orbit take approximately 88 - 127 minutes to circle Earth.
The satellites placed in LEO can have a tilted plane.
Applications:
This orbit is commonly used for satellite imaging, Earth observation, etc., but communicational
satellites (in constellations) are also placed in this orbit.
The International Space Station (ISS) is placed in this orbit, travelling about 16 times around Earth per
day.
A Constellation of 36 communication satellites of One Web (Satellite communications company) has
been placed in LEO by ISRO.
Earth Observatory satellite- RISAT-2B (Radar Imaging Earth observation satellite) of ISRO was launched
in LEO for the application of the Disaster Management System.
It is used by remote sensing satellites.
TYPES OF ORBIT BASED ON
FUNCTIONALITY
Based on the various combinations of the above-mentioned factors (Altitude, Eccentricity, Inclination), the most common
functional orbits are Geostationary orbit, Polar orbit, Sun-synchronous orbit, Molniya orbit, etc.
TYPES OF ORBIT BASED ON
FUNCTIONALITY
Geosynchronous Orbit and Geostationary Orbit
A geosynchronous orbit (GEO) is a prograde (in the direction of
Earth’s rotation), low inclination, High Earth orbit around Earth.
A spacecraft in this orbit appears at a constant longitude above the
Earth. The geosynchronous orbit is also called the Clarke orbit, as it
was first popularised by the science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke.
Geostationary Orbit:
Geostationary orbit is a particular case of the geosynchronous orbit,
with zero eccentricity and almost zero inclination (latitude), so that
the spacecraft in this orbit appears stationary above a point on the
Earth.
Such manoeuvring in orbit is called station keeping.
Altitude of the Geostationary Orbit:
The Geostationary orbit (or Geosynchronous Orbit) lies exactly
42,164 kilometres from the Earth's center (35,786 kilometres from
Earth’s surface).
At this point, the orbital period of the satellite exactly matches
the rotational period of the Earth (taking 23 hours 56 minutes, and
4 seconds) as it travels at geosynchronous speed (exactly the same
speed as the Earth).
TYPES OF ORBIT BASED ON
FUNCTIONALITY
Applications:
Weather monitoring satellites must be placed in GEO as they need
constant observation of particular areas on the surface of the Earth.
Some communication and navigational satellites are also placed in this
orbit.
Meteorological satellites: INSAT series (ISRO), MeteoSAT (Europe),
Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (NASA),
Geostationary Meteorological Satellite (JAXA), etc.
Communication satellites: INSAT and GSAT series of India
Three of the seven NavIC (Indian navigational satellites) satellites are
placed in geostationary orbit whereas; four are placed in inclined
geosynchronous orbit.
Many high Earth-orbiting satellites monitor solar activity and track
magnetic and radiation levels in space around them.
TYPES OF ORBIT BASED ON
FUNCTIONALITY
Polar Orbit:
Polar orbit is a Low Earth orbit where satellites travel
past Earth from north to south.
Altitudes: The altitudes of the polar orbits range
between 200 to 1000 km. Lower altitudes enable
satellites to faster revolution. In polar orbits, satellites
can complete 15 to 16 revolutions around the Earth.
Inclination: Inclination of the polar orbits around 90
degrees, with a deviation ranging from 20 to 30
degrees.
Eccentricity: Polar orbit follows a circular shape;
hence, eccentricity is close to zero, hence nearly
circular shape.
Applications: Polar orbits have specific
characteristics that make them useful for various
applications, particularly for Earth observation (remote
sensing) and scientific research.
Remote sensing: Such applications generally use
nearly polar orbits to attain global coverage. Example
is Cartosat-3.
Resource management: Applications such as
monitoring crops, forests, and even global security, as
TYPES OF ORBIT BASED ON
FUNCTIONALITY
Sun-synchronous Orbit
It is a particular type of Polar Orbit, travelling over the polar regions. A
typical Sun-synchronous satellite completes 14 orbits a day, and each
successive orbit is shifted over the Earth’s surface by around 2875 km at
the equator.
Features:
Satellites in this orbit are synchronous with the Sun, i.e. they are
always in the ‘fixed’ position relative to the Sun.
Hence, in this orbit, the satellite always visits the same spot at the
same local time.
For example, passing Paris every day at exactly the same time in the
afternoon.
It has constant sun illumination through inclination and altitude.
Altitude: A satellite in a Sun-synchronous orbit would often be at an
altitude of between 600 to 800 km.
TYPES OF ORBIT BASED ON
FUNCTIONALITY
TYPES OF ORBIT BASED ON
FUNCTIONALITY
Sun-synchronous Orbit Applications:
Sun-synchronous can be used for the following purposes:
To investigate climate change and weather patterns, it enabled
scientists to compare images from the same season over several
years and deliver consistent information required to study
phenomena like climate change.
To help predict atmospheric disturbance and extreme events
like severe cyclonic storms, etc. For example, SARAL (Satellite
with ARGOS and ALTIKA) is placed in the Sun-synchronous orbit
for oceanographic studies.
Monitoring emergencies like forest fires or flood situations.
To accumulate data on long-term problematic events like
deforestation or rising sea levels.
Remote sensing applications in the management of resources
TYPES OF ORBIT BASED ON
FUNCTIONALITY
Semi-synchronous orbit:
Semi-synchronous orbit lies in the medium Earth orbit between
LEO and GEO.
Altitude:
It is 20,200 kilometres above the surface (about 26,560 km
from the center of the Earth).
A satellite in this orbit takes around 12 hours to complete one
cycle.
Eccentricity:
The semi-synchronous orbit has a low eccentricity (near-
circular orbit).
Application:
Global Positioning System (GPS) and GLONASS satellites use
this orbit.
TYPES OF ORBIT BASED ON
FUNCTIONALITY
Molniya Orbit
Molniya Orbit combines high inclination (63.4°) with high eccentricity
(0.722) for better observation and covering larger swaths.
It is developed as a high-latitude (for example, polar regions)
communication alternative to geostationary orbits.
The high-altitude portion of the orbit repeats over the same location
every day and night.
Applications of Molniya orbit:
High latitude observation: Satellites in this orbit have better
capability to observe events and associated phenomena in polar regions
like the impact of climate change on polar regions.
Meteorological observation of middle and high latitudes:
Meteorological instruments placed on a satellite in a Molniya orbit
improve the temporal frequency of observation of high-latitude
phenomena such as polar lows.
Communications in the far north or south: Russian
communications satellites and the Sirius radio satellites currently use
this type of orbit. It is often used by navigation satellites, like the
European Galileo system.
TYPES OF ORBIT BASED ON
FUNCTIONALITY
Molniya Orbit
TRANSFER ORBITS
Transfer Orbits
Transfer orbits are intermediate orbits used to shift a satellite from one orbit to
another. Satellites are launched from Earth and placed on a transfer orbit before
finally being placed in the destination orbit in subsequent stages with the help of
their propulsion systems.
Polar Transfer Orbit (PTO):
It is an orbit at an altitude of about 100 km below the Polar or Low Earth Orbit.
Remote Sensing satellites are launched into this orbit first, and then, using their
own propulsion systems, they lift themselves to the desired orbit.
Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO):
This orbit is located at a height of about 200 km below the geostationary orbit.
GSS is first launched in GTO and then lifts itself using its own propulsion system to
the desired orbit.
Hence, this allows a satellite to reach smoothly in two steps more efficiently
without actually needing the launch vehicle to go all the way to this altitude. It is
like a stepping stone for reaching a high-altitude orbit like GEO.
In transfer orbits, the payload uses engines to go from an orbit of one
eccentricity, a measure of how circular (round) or elliptical (squashed) an orbit is,
to another, which puts it on track to higher or lower orbits.
ORBIT MANEUVERS
At some point during the lifetime of most space vehicles or satellites,
we must change one or more of the orbital elements.
For example, we may need to transfer from an initial parking orbit to
the final mission orbit, rendezvous with or intercept another spacecraft,
or correct the orbital elements to adjust for the perturbations discussed
in the previous section.
Most frequently, we must change the orbit altitude, plane, or both.
To change the orbit of a space vehicle, we have to change its velocity
vector in magnitude or direction.
Most propulsion systems operate for only a short time compared to the
orbital period, thus we can treat the maneuver as an impulsive change
in velocity while the position remains fixed.
For this reason, any maneuver changing the orbit of a space vehicle
must occur at a point where the old orbit intersects the new orbit.
If the orbits do not intersect, we must use an intermediate orbit that
intersects both.
In this case, the total maneuver will require at least two propulsive
burns.
HOHMANN TRANSFER
HOHMANN TRANSFER
The most common type of in-plane maneuver changes the size and
energy of an orbit, usually from a low-altitude parking orbit to a higher-
altitude mission orbit such as a geosynchronous orbit.
Because the initial and final orbits do not intersect, the maneuver
requires a transfer orbit.
The figure to the right represents a Hohmann transfer orbit.
In this case, the transfer orbit's ellipse is tangent to both the initial and
final orbits at the transfer orbit's perigee and apogee respectively.
The orbits are tangential, so the velocity vectors are collinear, and the
Hohmann transfer represents the most fuel-efficient transfer between
two circular, coplanar orbits.
When transferring from a smaller orbit to a larger orbit, the change in
velocity is applied in the direction of motion; when transferring from a
larger orbit to a smaller, the change of velocity is opposite to the
direction of motion.
The total change in velocity required for the orbit transfer is the sum of
the velocity changes at perigee and apogee of the transfer ellipse.
Since the velocity vectors are collinear, the velocity changes are just
the differences in magnitudes of the velocities in each orbit.
HOHMANN TRANSFER
HOHMANN TRANSFER
A spacecraft is in a circular parking orbit with an
altitude of 200 km. Calculate the velocity change
required to perform a Hohmann transfer to a circular
orbit at geosynchronous altitude.