Sun-synchronous orbit — Diagram showing the orientation of a Sun synchronous orbit (green) in four points of the year. A non sun synchronous orbit (magenta) is also shown for reference A Sun synchronous orbit (sometimes called a heliosynchronous orbit) is a geocentric… … Wikipedia
Orbit — This article is about orbits in celestial mechanics, due to gravity. For other uses, see Orbit (disambiguation). A satellite orbiting the Earth has a tangential velocity and an inward acceleration … Wikipedia
Geocentric orbit — Earth orbit redirects here. For the motion of the Earth around the Sun, see Earth s orbit. Earth orbiter redirects here. For the shuttle simulator, see Earth Orbiter 1. The following words may have more than one definition or other non Earth… … Wikipedia
Orbit of the Moon — Not to be confused with Lunar orbit in the sense of a selenocentric orbit, that is, an orbit around the Moon The Moon completes its orbit around the Earth in approximately 27.3 days (a sidereal month). The Earth and Moon orbit about their… … Wikipedia
Semi-major axis — The semi major axis of an ellipse The major axis of an ellipse is its longest diameter, a line that runs through the centre and both foci, its ends being at the widest points of the shape. The semi major axis is one half of the major axis, and… … Wikipedia
Orbit equation — In astrodynamics an orbit equation defines the path of orbiting body around central body relative to , without specifying position as a function of time. Under standard assumptions, a body moving under the influence of a force, directed to a… … Wikipedia
Orbit phasing — In astrodynamics orbit phasing is the adjustment of the time position of spacecraft along its orbit, usually described as adjusting the orbiting spacecraft s true anomaly. This is predominantly used in satellite positioning, especially if the… … Wikipedia
Semi-minor axis — The semi minor axis of an ellipse In geometry, the semi minor axis (also semiminor axis) is a line segment associated with most conic sections (that is, with ellipses and hyperbolas). One end of the segment is the center of the conic section, and … Wikipedia
Geosynchronous orbit — A geosynchronous orbit is an orbit around the Earth with an orbital period matching the Earth s sidereal rotation period [V. Chobotov, ed., (1996) Orbital Mechanics, 2nd edition , AIAA Education Series, p. 304.] . This synchronization means that… … Wikipedia
Graveyard orbit — A graveyard orbit, also called a supersynchronous orbit, junk orbit or disposal orbit, is an orbit significantly above synchronous orbit, where spacecraft are intentionally placed at the end of their operational life. It is a measure performed in … Wikipedia