Solar Radiation Pressure and Gravitational Waves Effects on Sun-Synchronous Orbits

Abstract

For certain values of semi-major axis and eccentricity, orbit plane precession caused by Earth oblate is synchronous with the mean orbital motion of the apparent Sun (a sun-synchronism). Many forces cause slow changes in the inclination and ascending node of sun-synchronous orbits. In this work, we investigate the analytical perturbations due to the direct solar radiation pressure and gravitational waves effects. A full analytical solution is obtained using technique of canonical Lie-transformation up to the order three in (the oblateness of the Earth). The solar radiation pressure and gravitational waves perturbations cause second order effects on all the elements of the elliptic orbit (the eccentricity, inclination, ascending node, argument of perigee, and semi-major axis) consequently these perturbations will cause disturbance in the sun-synchronism. Also we found that the perturbation or the behavior of gravitational waves almost the same as the perturbation or the behavior of solar radiation pressure and their coupling will incorporate the sun-synchronism through the secular rate of the ascending node precession.