Analytical Drag Theory of an Artificial Satellite with Small Eccentricity.

The effect of the atmosphere of a nonrotating spherical earth on the motion of a satellite in an orbit of small to moderate eccentricity is investigated analytically. The perturbation due to drag is formulated; the short-period terms are eliminated by means of Lie transformations; and Lie series theory is applied to integrate the secular part of the perturbation. Results are presented in graphs and shown to be in good agreement with those obtained by numerical integration. The suitability of the present method for computer implementation is indicated.