mission analysis aspects for earth observations missions

Orbit Perturbation: Earth Oblateness (2)– The vector p has component which are parallel, transversal andnormal to the position vector r describing the orbit à it induce timechanges in the orbital parameters– Neglecting the mathematical details [Prussing and Conway (1993)],one can find that:– The time variation of the right ascension depends only onthe component of the perturbing force normal to the(instantaneous) orbital plane– The rate of change of the argument of perigee is influencedby all three perturbation componentsTypical Observation Categories for EO– Spectrometric Observations– Passive Observations, Microwave– Active Observations, Microwave– Passive Observations, Optical– Active Observations, Optical– Ionosphere and Atmosphere Sounding– Electric and Magnetic Field (DC and VLF) Observations– Gradiometric Observations– The nature and the requirements associated to the observationsimposes constraints on both the spacecraft and the mission design,which drive the complexity of the engineering solutions and thecosts.