Journal of Physical Studies 25(1), Article 1901 [4 pages] (2021)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.30970/jps.25.1901

APPROXIMATE EVALUATION OF THE DURATION OF THE ORBITAL MOTION OF ARTIFICIAL EARTH SATELLITES TAKING INTO ACCOUNT LIGHT PRESSURE

M. M. Koval'chuk{1} , Ye. B. Vovchyk{1}, O. A. Baran{1} , A. I. Bilinsky{1}, I. P. Laushnyk{2} , M. I. Stodilka{1} , M. B. Hirnyak{1}

1Astronomical Observatory, Ivan Franko National University of Lviv,
8, Kyrylo \& Mefodiy St., Lviv, UA–79005, Ukraine,
e-mail: lesiaab@gmail.com,
2Lviv branch of Dnipro National University of Railway Transport,
12-A, I. Blazhkevych St., Lviv, UA–79000, Ukraine

Received 22 July 2020; in final form 27 November 2020; accepted 03 December 2020; published online 29 January 2021

A comprehensive research was conducted to establish the influence of solar pressure on the existence of artificial Earth satellites in their orbit. Six low-orbit satellites and one satellite with a high-elliptical orbit moving in orbit during 2001-2020 were selected for the study. We used the USSTRATCOM database of the satellites' orbital elements (http://www.space-track.org/), additional data were taken from CalSky (https://www.calsky.com) and TLEtools (https://tletools.readthedocs.io).

Taking into account light pressure, we refined the calculation of the duration of a satellite's orbital motion, which we had performed earlier [M. M. Koval'chuk, Bull. Natl. Univ. Kyiv. Astron. \textbf{55}, 39 (2017)], and clarified the moment of its destruction. Using the proposed method allowed us to reduce the difference between the calculated and the real lifetime of satellites: for low-orbit satellites, the difference between the calculated and the real time of their existence in orbit does not exceed $ \pm 1 $ day, for a satellite with a highly elliptical orbit it is $ +2 $ days. Such accuracy is sufficient to produce proper forecasts.

Thus, consideration of light pressure gives a small correction in the calculations in the case of low-orbit satellites, but this correction can be significant for low-mass and large-surface objects moving in medium and high (geostationary) orbits [Ch. Lucking, C. Colombo, C. R. McInnes, Acta Astronaut. {\bf 77}, 197 (2012)].

Key words: artificial Earth satellites, orbital motion, light pressure.

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