SNS 416 : Astronautics 1

Dr Mohamed Elfarran
Assistant Professor of Aerospace Engineering
 Astronautics
• The branch of aerospace engineering that
deals with flight outside the atmosphere is
termed as astronautics.
• Astronautics involves the basic concepts of
space flight, space stations, orbit
determination as well as rocket propulsion.
• Astronautics can be analyzed in three parts
- Ascent through the atmosphere
- Mission in space
- Planetary entry
 Definitions and Terminology
• For any object to be placed in an orbit
around the Earth, it is essential for it
to have a minimum velocity of 7.9
km/ sec
• If you want to have a mission to the
moon or beyond, or if you need to go
beyond the gravitational attraction of
earth, you will need to obtain a
minimum speed of 11 km/sec
• Once you get out of Earth’s gravity,
you will continue to travel at that
speed until you enter the
gravitational attraction of another
body.
 Definitions and Terminology
• When you are out in space, there
will be no atmosphere to create
any drag effects on your space
vehicle
• In order to escape Earth’s
atmospheric effects, you have to
be higher than 1000 km altitude.
• The time taken by a satellite to
execute one complete orbit is
called the period and it is shown
by τ
 Period of a Satellite

• The time taken by a satellite to

execute one complete orbit is
called the period and it is
shown by τ. Hence, if a satellite
rotates one orbit in 3 hours,
then its period is 3 hours
 Definitions and Terminology
• When you are out in space, there will be
no atmosphere to create any drag effects
on your space vehicle
• International treaties state that altitude
above 100 miles (160 km) is considered
space as flying below this altitude
requires that country’s permission.
• Most satellites are placed above 400 km
of altitude in orbit
• In order to fully escape Earth’s
atmospheric effects, you have to be
higher than 1000 km altitude.
 Definitions and Terminology
• Apogee is the highest altitude or point in an
orbit around the Earth
• Perigee is the lowest altitude or point in an
orbit around the Earth
• Aphelion is the highest point in an orbit of an
object around the sun (far from the sun)
• Perihelion is the lowest point in an orbit of an
object around the sun (close to sun)
Apogee – Perigee – Aphelion -
Perihelion
 Types of Orbits
• Geostationary orbit is when the satellite or
spacecraft is stationary in a single position
relative to the Earth
• Polar Orbit is an orbit in which your spacecraft or
your satellite crosses the orbits in a longitudinal
fashion. In a polar orbit, you can circle the Earth
several times.
• Highly Elliptical Orbit: When the satellite passes
Earth quickly and stays away from Earth fixed in a
distant location.
• LEO is orbit with less then 500 km altitude
• MEO is above 500 KM to 1000 km
• HEO is above 1000 KM
 LEO
• LEO is Low Earth orbit and it is
considered as 160 km to 500 km
of altitude. Technically, in Low
Earth orbit, the drag effects will
always hinder operations.
• For example, ISS is in LEO
(around 386 km – 460 km) and it
needs its orbit readjusted by the
Space Shuttle or by its own
thrusters every 6 months or it
will fall down
• Satellites in LEO will have very
high speeds around 18,000 miles
per hour
 Types of Orbits

Low Earth Orbit is used for things that we want to visit often with the
Space Shuttle, like the Hubble Space Telescope and the International
Space Station. This is convenient for installing new instruments, fixing
things that are broken, and inspecting damage. It is also about the only
way we can have people go up, do experiments, and return in a
relatively short time
 Low Earth Orbit Disadvantages
• The first disadvantage is that there is still some
atmospheric drag. Even though the amount of
atmosphere is far too little to breath, there is
enough to place a small amount of drag on the
satellite or other object. As a result, over time these
objects slow down and their orbits slowly decay
• The second disadvantage has to do with how
quickly a satellite in LEO goes around the Earth. As
you can imagine, a satellite traveling 18,000 miles
per hour or faster does not spend very long over
any one part of the Earth at a given time
 MEO
• MEO is Middle Earth
Orbit is a special orbit
that is beyond LEO.
• MEO is usually defined
as 500 Km – 1000 Km in
most literature.
However, previously it
was defined as high as
10,000 km
 HEO
• HEO is High Earth orbit
• HEO is defined as orbit above
1000 km in most literature. It
extends to 40,000 km altitude.
• Mostly in HEO, the drag effects
would be non existent. Hence,
HEO will have a more stable
orbit free from atmospheric
effects, but also it will require
much more energy to put there
LEO – MEO - HEO
 Geosynchronous/ Geostationary
Orbit
• Satellite has to be placed approximately 22,000
miles (36,000 km) away from the surface of the
Earth in order to remain in a GEO orbit
 Geosynchronous/Geostationary Orbit
• By positioning a satellite so that it has infinite dwell
time over one spot on the Earth, we can constantly
monitor the weather in one location, provide
reliable telecommunications service, and even
beam television signals directly to your house
• The down side of a geosynchronous orbit is that it is
more expensive to put something that high up and
not possible to repair it from the shuttle
• So you only put something in GEO if you really need
to have it in the same location in the sky at all
times.
 Polar Orbit
• These orbits have an
inclination near 90 degrees.
This allows the satellite to
see virtually every part of
the Earth as the Earth
rotates underneath it. It
takes approximately 90
minutes for the satellite to
complete one orbit.
Polar / Geostationary Orbit
 Heliosynchronous Orbit
• These orbits allows a satellite to pass over a section of the Earth at
the same time of day. Since there are 365 days in a year and 360
degrees in a circle, it means that the satellite has to shift its orbit by
approximately one degree per day. These satellites orbit at an
altitude between 700 to 800 km
• These orbits are used for satellites that need a constant amount of
sunlight
 Highly Elliptical Orbit
• An object in orbit about Earth moves much faster when
it is close to Earth than when it is farther away.
• If the orbit is very elliptical, the satellite will spend most
of its time near apogee (the furthest point in its orbit)
where it moves very slowly.
Various Satellite Orbits
GPS Satellite Coverage
 Types of Satellites
• Weather Satellites
• Communications Satellites
• Observation Satellites
• Navigation / GPS Satellites
• Military Satellites
• Nanosatellites / Microsatellites
• Remote Sensing Satellites
 Transfer Orbits
• The type of orbit that is used to transfer the
satellite from one orbit to another
 Angle of Inclination
• Angle of inclination is the angle that the satellite
makes against the Earth’s axis
Angle of Inclination
Satellite Orbits
 Zenith and Nadir
• Zenith is the direction toward the satellite
• Nadir is the direction toward Earth
 Gravitational Force on a Object
• The Law of Universal Gravitation was
discovered by Isaac Newton which states that
the gravitational force between two masses
varies inversely as the square of the distance
between their centers.
• Where G is the Universal Constant in
G = 6.67 x 10^-11 m^3/kgs^2
GmM
F 2
r
 Lagrange Points
• Lagrange points are locations in space where
gravitational forces and the orbital motion of a body
balance each other
 Kepler’s Laws
• Kepler’s Law holds for any satellite or natural body
in orbit
• A Satellite will have an elliptical path around its
center of attraction
• In equal times, the areas swept by the radius vector
of a satellite are the same. (As a satellite moves
near its parent object, it will move faster)
• The periods of any two satellites around the same
planet are related to their semimajor axis. . (As a
satellite has a larger orbit, it will move more
slowly)
 Newton’s Laws
• Newton's First Law: A body will remain at rest
or in motion in a straight line unless acted
upon by a force.
• Newton's Second Law: Change in motion is
proportional to the applied force and parallel
to it.
• Newton's Third Law: To every action there is
an equal and opposite reaction.
 Circular Orbital Equation
• Circular velocity of an orbit around an object is
defined as:
2
k
V
r
• Where for Earth
k  GM  3.956 x10 m / s
2 14 3 2

r = 6.4 x 10 ^ 6 m
Hence for escape from earth into circular orbit you
would need a velocity of 7.9 km / sec
 Parabolic Orbital Equation
• For any vehicle to escape the Earth completely, it
would need to have a parabolic or a hyperbolic
trajectory.
• A parabolic trajectory would have the least required
potential and kinetic energy. Hence, the equation
for parabolic orbital velocity will give the minimum
escape velocity of 11.2 km/sec.

2
2k
V
r
 Satellite Orbit Determination
• The orbit of a satellite launched by the simple
means of pushing it out of the bay of the
Space Shuttle would have Orbital period 90
minutes, semi-major axis about 6500 km
• The motion of a spacecraft that is always
located over the same part of the Earth would
have Semi-major axis 22,000 miles (35,000
km), eccentricity 0
Locating the Satellite in Orbit
a (1  e ) 2
ro 
1  e cos 
Where:
e : eccentricity of the orbit
a : measure from the foci to the apogee
r : radius from the foci of the planet
Φ : True anomaly (measure of the angle from the perigee to the
position of the satellite

The Rectangular Coordinates of a Satellite are:

xo  ro cos o yo  ro sin o
 Period Calculation of a Satellite
• The most simple equation for the period of a
satellite is given by:
3
T  (2r ) /( k )
2

Where k = 3.986 x 10^5

• The velocity of a satellite is:

2 k
  3
T
r2
 Sample Orbit Determination
• If the space shuttle is in an altitude of 250 km in a
circular orbit, then calculate the period of the orbit
and its speed.
• The radius of the orbit= 6378.14 km + 250 =6628.14
• The period of the orbit is :
2 6628.143 / 2
T  5370.30s  89 min 30 sec
k

• The velocity of the Shuttle is:

k 2 3.956 x1014 m 3 / s 2
V  6
 7.72km / s
r 6.62814 x10
 Sample Satellite Orbits
• Intelsat : 35,786 km : 3.07 km/s : 24 hours
• ICO: 10,255 km : 4.8954 km/s : 5 hr 56 min
• Iridium: 780 km : 7.46 km/s : 1 hr 40 min
 Reentry of a Spacecraft
• A spacecraft orbiting around the Earth will
have a very large kinetic energy and a
corresponding high velocity if 8500 m/sec
• These speeds correspond to very high Mach
numbers of 30 or more as they enter the
atmosphere
• Hence, a spacecraft on reentry will have a
large reentry speed causing problems with
stability as well as heating of the body
 Types of Reentry Paths
• Ballistic Entry where the vehicle has little or no
aerodynamic lift. The impact point is predetermined
by the conditions at first reentry point. The pilot has
no control over the landing position. Besides the
space shuttle all other spacecraft reenter on a
ballistic path.
• Skip Entry in which the spacecraft skips like a stone
• Glide Entry in which the spacecraft comes in high
with 30 or 4o degrees of angle of attack. The vehicle
can be piloted. The best example is the space
shuttle.
 Concerns for Reentry
• Aerodynamic Heating
• Maximum Deceleration
• For safety of the occupants, the maximum
deceleration should not exceed 10 gs or 10
times the acceleration of gravity
• The aerodynamic heating of the vehicle
should be low enough to maintain tolerable
temperatures inside the spacecraft