ON THE POWERED FLIGHT TRAJECTORY OF AN EARTH SATELLITE

Abstract : The actual choice of a powered flight trajectory depends upon details of booster design and upon the particular orbit selected, the latter being determined by instrumentation and data requirements. Independent of these considerations, however, it is of interest to ask what type of trajectory will be optimal from the standpoint of missile efficiency. The approach used assumes that the characteristics of the booster, i.e., its thrust and mass as functions of time, are specified. The problem is then to determine what powered flight trajectory will put the satellite into an orbit of maximum altitude.