Keplerian Orbital Motion

Aerospace Engineering

How It Works

In a classical gravitational two-body system, a satellite follows a closed elliptical orbit around the primary body situated at one focal point. Kepler's Second Law dictates that the radius vector connecting the primary body to the satellite sweeps out equal areas in equal time intervals. Consequently, the orbital speed reaches its maximum at periapsis and decelerates to its minimum at apoapsis while strictly conserving specific angular momentum and mechanical energy.

Governing Equation
r(θ) = p / (1 + e · cos θ) , dA / dt = h / 2 = constant