Agenda

• Orbital Mechanics
• Look Angle Determination

1
Orbital Mechanics

2
Kinematics & Newton’s Law
s = Distance traveled in time, t
u = Initial Velocity at t = 0
v = Final Velocity at time = t
a = Acceleration
• s = ut + (1/2)at2
F = Force acting on the object
• v2 = u2 + 2at
Newton’s
Second Law • v = u + at
• F = ma
3
FORCE ON A SATELLITE : 1
Force = Mass  Acceleration Next
Slide
Unit of Force is a Newton
A Newton is the force required to
accelerate 1 kg by 1 m/s2
Underlying units of a Newton are
therefore (kg)  (m/s2)
In Imperial Units 1 Newton = 0.2248
ft lb.

4
ACCELERATION FORMULA
a = acceleration due to gravity =  / r2 km/s2
r = radius from center of earth
 = universal gravitational constant G
multiplied by the mass of the earth ME
 is Kepler’s constant and
= 3.9861352  105 km3/s2
G = 6.672  10-11 Nm2/kg2 or 6.672  10-20
km3/kg s2 in the older units

5
FORCE ON A SATELLITE : 2
Inward (i.e. centripetal force)

Since Force = Mass  Acceleration

If the Force inwards due to gravity = FIN then
FIN = m  ( / r2)
= m  (GME / r2)

6
Orbital Velocities and Periods
Satellite Orbital Orbital Orbital
System Height (km) Velocity (km/s) Period
h min s
INTELSAT 35,786.43 3.0747 23 56 4.091
ICO-Global 10,255 4.8954 5 55 48.4
Skybridge 1,469 7.1272 1 55 17.8
Iridium 780 7.4624 1 40 27.0

7
Reference Coordinate Axes 1:
Earth Centric Coordinate System

Fig. 2.2 in text

The earth is at the center
of the coordinate system
Reference planes coincide
with the equator and the
polar axis
More usual
to use this
coordinate
system
8
Reference Coordinate Axes 2:
Satellite Coordinate System

Fig. 2.3 in text

The earth is at the
center of the coordinate
system and reference is
the plane of the
satellite’s orbit

9
Balancing the Forces - 2


Inward Force F

GMEmr
F  r
3
Equation (2.7)

G = Gravitational constant = 6.672  10-11 Nm2/kg2

ME = Mass of the earth (and GME =  = Kepler’s constant)
m = mass of satellite
r = satellite orbit radius from center of earth

r= unit vector in the r direction (positive r is away from earth)
10
Balancing the Forces - 3


Outward Force F

 2
d r
F m
dt 2
Equation (2.8)

Equating inward and outward forces we find

 
2
r d r Equation (2.9), or we can write
 3 
r dt 2
  Second order differential
2
d r r Equation (2.10) equation with six unknowns:
2
 3
  0
dt r the orbital elements
11
THE ORBIT - 1
We have a second order differential equation
See text p.21 for a way to find a solution
If we re-define our co-ordinate system into
polar coordinates (see Fig. 2.4) we can re-write
equation (2.11) as two second order differential
equations in terms of r0 and 0

12
THE ORBIT - 2
Solving the two differential equations
leads to six constants (the orbital
constants) which define the orbit, and
three laws of orbits (Kepler’s Laws of
Planetary Motion)
Johaness Kepler (1571 - 1630) a
German Astronomer and Scientist

13
KEPLER’S THREE LAWS
Orbit is an ellipse with the larger body (earth) at
one focus
The satellite sweeps out equal arcs (area) in
equal time (NOTE: for an ellipse, this means
that the orbital velocity varies around the orbit)
The square of the period of revolution equals a
CONSTANT  the THIRD POWER of SEMI-
MAJOR AXIS of the ellipse
We’ll look at each of these in turn
14
Review: Ellipse analysis
y
P(x,y)
(0,b)

x
V(-a,0) F(-c,0) F(c,0) V(a,0)

(0,-b)

a2  b2  c2
• Points (-c,0) and (c,0) are the foci.
Standard
•Points (-a,0) and (a,0) are the vertices. Equation:
2
x y2
• Line between vertices is the major axis.
2
 2 1
a b
• a is the length of the semimajor axis.
• Line between (0,b) and (0,-b) is the minor axis. Area of ellipse:
• b is the length of the semiminor axis. A  ab

15
KEPLER 1: Elliptical Orbits
Figure 2.6 in text
Law 1
The orbit is an ellipse

e = ellipse’s eccentricity
O = center of the earth (one
focus of the ellipse)
C = center of the ellipse
a = (Apogee + Perigee)/2

16
 KEPLER 1: Elliptical Orbits
(cont.)
Equation 2.17 in text:
(describes a conic section,
which is an ellipse if e < 1)

p p
r0 
1  e * cos(0 )
e = eccentricity
e<1  ellipse
e = 0  circle
r0 = distance of a point in the orbit to the
center of the earth
p = geometrical constant (width of the
conic section at the focus)
p=a(1-e2)
0 = angle between r0 and the perigee
17
KEPLER 2: Equal Arc-Sweeps
Figure 2.5
Law 2
If t 2 - t1 = t4 - t3
then A12 = A34
Velocity of satellite is
SLOWEST at APOGEE;
FASTEST at PERIGEE

18
KEPLER 3: Orbital Period
Orbital period and the Ellipse are related by

T2 = (4 2 a3) /  (Equation 2.21)

 = Kepler’s Constant = GME

That is the square of the period of revolution is equal to a
constant  the cube of the semi-major axis.
IMPORTANT: Period of revolution is referenced to inertial space, i.e., to
the galactic background, NOT to an observer on the surface of one of the
bodies (earth).
19
Numerical Example 1
The Geostationary Orbit:
Sidereal Day = 23 hrs 56 min 4.1 sec
Calculate radius and height of GEO orbit:
T2 = (4 2 a3) /  (eq. 2.21)
Rearrange to a3 = T2  /(4 2)
T = 86,164.1 sec
a3 = (86,164.1) 2 x 3.986004418 x 105 /(4 2)
a = 42,164.172 km = orbit radius
h = orbit radius – earth radius = 42,164.172 – 6378.14
= 35,786.03 km

20
Solar vs. Sidereal Day
A sidereal day is the time between consecutive crossings of
any particular longitude on the earth by any star other than the
sun.
A solar say is the time between consecutive crossings of any
particular longitude of the earth by the sun-earth axis.
Solar day = EXACTLY 24 hrs
Sidereal day = 23 h 56 min. 4.091 s
Why the difference?
By the time the Earth completes a full rotation with respect
to an external point (not the sun), it has already moved its
center position with respect to the sun. The extra time it
takes to cross the sun-earth axis, averaged over 4 full years
(because every 4 years one has 366 deays) is of about 3.93
minutes per day.
Calculation next page
21
 Solar vs. Sidereal Day
Numerical Calculation:

4 years = 1461 solar days (365*4

+1)
4 years : earth moves 1440 degrees
(4*360) around sun.
1 solar day: earth moves 0.98
degrees (=1440/1461) around
sun
1 solar day : earth moves 360.98
degress around itself (360 +
0.98)
1sidereal day = earth moves 360
degrees around itself
1 solar day = 24hrs = 1440
minutes
1 sidereal day = 1436.7 minutes
(1440*360/360.98)
Difference = 3.93 minutes

(Source: M.Richaria, Satellite Communication Systems, Fig.2.7)

22
 LOCATING THE SATELLITE IN
ORBIT: 1
Start with Fig. 2.6 in Text o is the True
Anomaly
See eq. (2.22)
C is the
center of the
orbit ellipse
O is the
center of the
earth
NOTE: Perigee and Apogee are on opposite sides of the orbit
23
LOCATING THE SATELLITE IN
ORBIT: 2
Need to develop a procedure that will allow
the average angular velocity to be used
If the orbit is not circular, the procedure is to
use a Circumscribed Circle
A circumscribed circle is a circle that has a
radius equal to the semi-major axis length of
the ellipse and also has the same center

See next slide

24
 LOCATING THE SATELLITE IN
ORBIT: 3
Fig. 2.7 in the text
 = Average angular velocity

E = Eccentric Anomaly
M = Mean Anomaly

M = arc length (in radians) that the

satellite would have traversed since
perigee passage if it were moving
around the circumscribed circle
with a mean angular velocity 

25
ORBIT CHARACTERISTICS
Semi-Axis Lengths of the Orbit
2
p h See eq. (2.18)
p
a where
 and (2.16)
1 e 2
and h is the magnitude of
the angular momentum
2
h C

b  a 1 e 
2 1/ 2
where e

See eqn.
(2.19)

and e is the eccentricity of the orbit

26
ORBIT ECCENTRICITY
If a = semi-major axis,
b = semi-minor axis, and
e = eccentricity of the orbit ellipse,
then
ab
e
ab
NOTE: For a circular orbit, a = b and e = 0
27
Time reference:

tp Time of Perigee = Time of closest

approach to the earth, at the same
time, time the satellite is crossing the x0
axis, according to the reference used.
t- tp = time elapsed since satellite last
passed the perigee.

28
ORBIT DETERMINATION 1:
Procedure:
Given the time of perigee tp, the
eccentricity e and the length of the
semimajor axis a:
 Average Angular Velocity (eqn. 2.25)
M Mean Anomaly (eqn. 2.30)
E Eccentric Anomaly (solve eqn. 2.30)
ro Radius from orbit center (eqn. 2.27)
o True Anomaly (solve eq. 2.22)
x0 and y0 (using eqn. 2.23 and 2.24)

29
ORBIT DETERMINATION 2:
Orbital Constants allow you to
determine coordinates (ro, o) and (xo,
yo) in the orbital plane
Now need to locate the orbital plane
with respect to the earth
More specifically: need to locate the
orbital location with respect to a point
on the surface of the earth
30
LOCATING THE SATELLITE WITH
RESPECT TO THE EARTH
The orbital constants define the orbit of the
satellite with respect to the CENTER of the
earth
To know where to look for the satellite in
space, we must relate the orbital plane and
time of perigee to the earth’s axis

NOTE: Need a Time Reference to locate the satellite. The

time reference most often used is the Time of Perigee, tp

31
GEOCENTRIC EQUATORIAL
COORDINATES - 1
zi axis Earth’s rotational axis (N-S
poles with N as positive z)
xi axis In equatorial plane towards
FIRST POINT OF ARIES
yi axis Orthogonal to zi and xi
NOTE: The First Point of Aries is a line from the
center of the earth through the center of the sun at
the vernal equinox (spring) in the northern
hemisphere
32
 GEOCENTRIC EQUATORIAL
COORDINATES - 2
Fig. 2.8 in text

RA = Right Ascension
(in the xi,yi plane)
 = Declination (the
angle from the xi,yi plane
to the satellite radius)

To First Point of Aries

NOTE: Direction to First Point of Aries does NOT rotate
with earth’s motion around; the direction only translates
33
LOCATING THE SATELLITE - 1

Find the Ascending Node

Point where the satellite crosses
the equatorial plane from South
to North Inclination

Define  and Right

i Ascension of the Ascending
Node (= RA from Fig. 2.6 in text)
Define 
See next slide
34
DEFINING PARAMETERS
Fig. 2.9 in text

Center of earth

Argument of Perigee
Inclination
Right Ascension of orbit
First Point
of Aries
Orbit passes through Equatorial plane
equatorial plane here
35
DEFINING PARAMETERS 2

(Source: M.Richaria, Satellite Communication Systems, Fig.2.9)

36
LOCATING THE SATELLITE - 2

 and i together locate the

Orbital plane with respect to the
Equatorial plane.
 locates the Orbital coordinate
system with respect to the
Equatorial coordinate system.
37
LOCATING THE SATELLITE - 2
Astronomers use Julian Days or Julian Dates
Space Operations are in Universal Time
Constant (UTC) taken from Greenwich Meridian
(This time is sometimes referred to as “Zulu”)
To find exact position of an orbiting satellite at a
given instant, we need the Orbital Elements

38
ORBITAL ELEMENTS (P. 29)
 Right Ascension of the Ascending Node
i Inclination of the orbit
 Argument of Perigee (See Figures 2.6 &
2.7 in the text)
tp Time of Perigee
e Eccentricity of the elliptical orbit
a Semi-major axis of the orbit ellipse (See
Fig. 2.4 in the text)

39
Numerical Example 2:
Space Shuttle Circular orbit (height = h = 250
km). Use earth radius = 6378 km
a. Period = ?
b. Linear velocity = ?
Solution:
a) r = (re + h) = 6378 + 250 = 6628 km
From equation 2.21:
T2 = (4 2 a3) /  = 4 2  (6628)3 / 3.986004418  105 s2
= 2.8838287  107 s2
T = 5370.13 s = 89 mins 30.13 secs

b) The circumference of the orbit is 2a = 41,644.95 km

v = 2a / T = 41,644.95 / 5370.13 = 7.755 km/s
Alternatively:
v = (/r)2. =7.755 km/s.
40
Numerical Example 3:
Elliptical Orbit: Perigee = 1,000 km, Apogee = 4,000 km
a. Period = ?
b. Eccentricity = ?
Solution:
a) 2 a = 2 re + hp + ha = 2  6378 + 1000 + 4000 = 17,756 km
a = 8878 km
T2 = (4 2 a3) /  = 4 2  (8878)3 / 3.986004418  105 s2
= 6.930545  107 s2
T = 8324.99 s = 138 mins 44.99 secs = 2 hrs 18 mins 44.99
secs

b. At perigee, Eccentric anomaly E = 0 and r0 = re + hp.

From Equation 2.42,:
r0 = a ( 1 – e cos E )
re + hp = a( 1 – e)
e = 1 - (re + hp) / a = 1 - 7,378 / 8878 = 0.169
41
Look Angle Determination

42
CALCULATING THE LOOK
ANGLES 1: HISTORICAL
Need six Orbital Elements
Calculate the orbit from these Orbital Elements
Define the orbital plane
Locate satellite at time t with respect to the
First Point of Aries
Find location of the Greenwich Meridian
relative to the first point of Aries
Use Spherical Trigonometry to find the
position of the satellite relative to a point on the
earth’s surface
43
CALCULATING THE LOOK
ANGLES 2: AGE OF THE PC
Go to http://www.stk.com and go to the
“downloads” area.
ANALYTICAL GRAPHICS software suite called
Satellite Tool Kit for orbit determination
Used by LM, Hughes, NASA, etc.
Current suite is STK© 4.2 series
Need two basic look-angle parameters:
Elevation Angle
Azimuth Angle

44
ANGLE DEFINITIONS - 1

Nadir direction

Zenith direction
Sub

45
Coordinate System 1
• Latitude: Angular distance, measured in
degrees, north or south of the equator.
L from -90 to +90 (or from 90S to 90N)
• Longitude: Angular distance, measured in
degrees, from a given reference longitudinal
line (Greenwich, London).
l from 0 to 360E (or 180W to 180E)

46
Coordinate System 2

(Source: M.Richaria, Satellite Communication Systems, Fig.2.9)

47
Satellite Coordinates

SUB-SATELLITE POINT
Latitude Ls
Longitude ls
EARTH STATION LOCATION
Latitude Le
Longitude le
Calculate , ANGLE AT EARTH CENTER
Between the line that connects the earth-center to the satellite and
the line from the earth-center to the earth station.
48
LOOK ANGLES 1
• Azimuth: Measured eastward (clockwise)
from geographic north to the projection of
the satellite path on a (locally) horizontal
plane at the earth station.
• Elevation Angle: Measured upward from
the local horizontal plane at the earth station
to the satellite path.

49
LOOK ANGLES
NOTE: This is
Fig. 2.9 in text
True North
(not magnetic,
from compass)

50
Geometry for Elevation Calculation
Fig. 2.11 in text

El =  - 90o
 = central angle
rs = radius to the satellite
re = radius of the earth

51
 Slant path geometry
• Review of plane trigonometry
– Law of Sines
C sin A sin B sin C
– Law of Cosines  
a a b c
– Law of Tangents
b c 2  a 2  b 2  2ab cos C
B
c
tan
C

d  a d  b  , d  a  b  c
A 2 d d  c  2

Review of spherical trigonometry

Law of Sines
sin A sin B sin C
Law of Cosines for angles  
Law of Cosines for sides a b c
cos a  cos b cos c  sin b sin c cos A
C
b
a cos A   cos B cos C  sin B sin C cos a

A
B c
52
THE CENTRAL ANGLE 
 is defined so that it is non-negative and
cos () = cos(Le) cos(Ls) cos(ls – le) + sin(Le) sin(Ls)

The magnitude of the vectors joining the center of the

earth, the satellite and the earth station are related by
the law of cosine: 1/ 2
  r 2  r  
d  rs 1     2  cos 
e e

  rs   rs  

53
ELEVATION CALCULATION - 1
By the sine law we have

rs d

sin   sin   Eqn. (2.57)

Which yields
sin  
cos (El)  1/ 2
Eqn. (2.58)
  r 2  r  
1     2  cos 
e e

  rs   rs  

54
AZIMUTH CALCULATION - 1
More complex approach for non-geo satellites. Different formulas
and corrections apply depending on the combination of positions
of the earth station and subsatellite point with relation to each of
the four quadrants (NW, NE, SW, SE).

A simplified method for calculating azimuths in the

Geostationary case is shown in the next slides.

55
GEOSTATIONARY SATELLITES
We will concentrate on the GEOSTATIONARY CASE
This will allow some simplifications in the formulas

SUB-SATELLITE POINT
(Equatorial plane, Latitude Ls = 0o
Longitude ls)
EARTH STATION LOCATION
Latitude Le
Longitude le
56
THE CENTRAL ANGLE  - GEO
The original calculation previously shown:
cos () = cos(Le) cos(Ls) cos(ls – le) + sin(Le) sin(Ls)

Simplifies using Ls = 0o since the satellite is

over the equator:
cos () = cos(Le) cos(ls – le) (eqn. 2.66)

57
ELEVATION CALCULATION – GEO 1
Using rs = 42,164 km and re = 6,378.14 km gives
d = 42,164 [1.0228826 - 0.3025396 cos()]1/2 km
sin  
cosEl  
1.0228826  0.3025396 cos  1/ 2

NOTE: These are slightly different numbers than those

given in equations (2.67) and (2.68), respectively, due to
the more precise values used for rs and re

58
ELEVATION CALCULATION – GEO 2

A simpler expression for El (after Gordon and Walter,

“Principles of Communications Satellites”) is :

 re  
  cos    
1  
rs  
El  tan
 sin  
 
 

59
AZIMUTH CALCULATION – GEO 1
To find the azimuth angle, an intermediate angle, , must first be
found. The intermediate angle allows the correct quadrant (see
Figs. 2.10 & 2.13) to be found since the azimuthal direction can lie
anywhere between 0o (true North) and clockwise through 360o
(back to true North again). The intermediate angle is found from

 tan l  l  
  tan 
1 s e

NOTE: Simpler

 sin  Le  
expression than
eqn. (2.73)

60
AZIMUTH CALCULATION – GEO 2

Case 1: Earth station in the Northern Hemisphere with

(a) Satellite to the SE of the earth station: Az = 180o - 
(b) Satellite to the SW of the earth station: Az = 180o + 

Case 2: Earth station in the Southern Hemisphere with

(c) Satellite to the NE of the earth station: Az = 
(d) Satellite to the NW of the earth station: Az = 360o - 

61
 EXAMPLE OF A GEO
LOOK ANGLE ALCULATION - 1

FIND the Elevation and Azimuth

Look Angles for the following case:
Earth Station Latitude 52o N London, England
Earth Station Longitude 0o Dockland region

Satellite Latitude 0o Geostationary

Satellite Longitude 66o E INTELSAT IOR Primary

62
 EXAMPLE OF A GEO
LOOK ANGLE ALCULATION - 1
Step 1. Find the central angle 
cos() = cos(Le) cos(ls-le)
= cos(52) cos(66)
= 0.2504
yielding  = 75.4981o

Step 2. Find the elevation angle El

 re  
 cos   r 
El  tan 1   s 
 sin  
 

 


63
 EXAMPLE OF A GEO
LOOK ANGLE ALCULATION - 1
Step 2 contd.
El = tan-1[ (0.2504 – (6378.14 / 42164)) / sin (75.4981) ]
= 5.85o

Step 3. Find the intermediate angle, 

 tan l s  l e  
  tan  1

 sin Le  
= tan-1 [ (tan (66 - 0)) / sin (52) ]
= 70.6668

64
 EXAMPLE OF A GEO
LOOK ANGLE ALCULATION - 1

The earth station is in the Northern hemisphere and the satellite is

to the South East of the earth station. This gives
Az = 180o - 
= 180 – 70.6668 = 109.333o (clockwise from true North)

ANSWER: The look-angles to the satellite are

Elevation Angle = 5.85o
Azimuth Angle = 109.33o

65
VISIBILITY TEST
A simple test, called the visibility test will quickly tell you
whether you can operate a satellite into a given location.
A positive (or zero) elevation angle requires (see Fig. 2.13)

re
rs 
cos  Eqns.
(2.42)
which yields &
 re  (2.43)
  cos  1

 rs 
66
OPERATIONAL LIMITATIONS

For Geostationary Satellites

  81.3o
This would give an elevation angle = 0o
Not normal to operate down to zero
usual limits are C-Band 5o
Ku-Band 10o
Ka- and V-Band 20o

67