http://arxiv.org/abs/1810.11418
This paper is concerned with the comparison of semi-analytical and non-averaged propagation methods for Earth satellite orbits. We analyse the total integration error for semi-analytical methods and decompose it into dynamical, model truncation, short-periodic, and numerical error components. The first three are attributable to distinct approximations required by the method of averaging, which fundamentally limit the attainable accuracy. In contrast, numerical error, the only component present in non-averaged method, can be significantly mitigated by employing adaptive numerical algorithms and regularized formulations of the equations of motion. We present a collection of non-averaged methods based on the integration of regularized formulations of the equations of motion through an adaptive solver. The collection is implemented in the publicly available THALASSA orbit propagation code, and is compared to the semi-analytical method implemented in the orbit propagation tool STELA through numerical tests involving long-term propagations (on the order of decades) of LEO, GTO, and high-altitude HEO orbits. For the test cases considered, regularized non-averaged methods were found to be up to two times slower than semi-analytical for the LEO orbit, have comparable speed for the GTO, and be ten times as fast for the HEO (for the same accuracy). Efficient implementations of non-averaged regularized formulations of the equations of motion, and especially of non-singular element methods, are attractive candidates for the long-term study of high-altitude and highly elliptical Earth satellite orbits.
D. Amato, C. Bombardelli, G. Baù, et. al.
Mon, 29 Oct 18
16/45
Comments: 30 pages, 10 figures, 7 tables. Submitted to Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical Astronomy. Comments and feedback are encouraged