In our case we will use sine and cosine in such form that it will always give us r/h. The long side hence will also be the distance of the satellite to the center of the planet.
Remember here that the sine of an angle is the relation between the opposing (o) and the long side (hypotenuse h) of the triangle while the cosine is relation of the adjacent side (a) to the hypotenuse. With that we can now apply sine and/or cosine to the problem at hand. Thus we now know, that the side adjacent from the 60° angle and opposite from the 30° angle is the planet's radius. If you draw a line at mid-angle through each angle to the opposing side where the triangle is touching the circular planet you split the triangle into six smaller triangles with a 30° angle at the satellite, a 60° angle at the planet's center where the lines will cross and a 90° right angle at the horizon point. Why is it one Radius? I have to go into sine/cosine for that a little.Īs I said earlier each satellite holds a 60° angle to the others. It is one planetary radius or a semi-major axis of the planets diameter, assuming a negligible eccentricity, which should be a given for a commsat constellation. The answer is simple and applies to all bodies. This leads to the question of what altitude is required so the satellites can see each other. To work properly they need to be visible to each other over the horizon. In a 3-Satellite constellation 3 satellites are evenly spaced in a triangle with each one holding a 60° angle towards the other satellites.
1.2.1 Getting the Period from the semi-major axis.
0 kommentar(er)
