EFFECTS OF MOTION OF THE EQUATORIAL PLANE ON THE

ORBITAL ELEMENTS OF AN EARTH SATELLITE

YOSHIHIDE KOZAI
Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge, Mass. 02138, U.S.A.
Tokyo Astronomical Observatory, Mitaka, Tokyo 181, Japan

and

HIROSHI KINOSHITA
Tokyo Astronomical Observatory, Mitaka, Tokyo 181, Japan

(Received 15 June, 1972)

Abstract. Exact differential equations relating the perturbations to satellite orbital elements by the
motion of the Earth's equatorial plane are derived, and they are solved to second order in precession.
The system proposed in a previous paper (Kozai, 1960), in which the inclination and the argument of
perigee are referred to the equator of date and the longitude of the ascending node is measured from
a fixed point along a fixed plane and then along the equator of date, can still be recommended for
precise studies of satellite motion even when the second-order perturbations are taken into account.

1. Introduction

In a previous paper, Kozai (1960) discussed perturbations on the orbital elements of

a close-Earth satellite caused by the motion of the equatorial plane of the Earth due
to the precession and the nutation; he suggested that for precise studies of the motions
of close-Earth satellites, the inclination and the argument of perigee can most con-
veniently be referred to the equator of date, and the longitude of the ascending node
can be measured from a fixed point along a fixed plane and then along the equator of
date. In fact, the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) has adopted such a
system for representing the orbital elements of satellites. However, since SAO still uses
the mean equinox at 1950.0 as the fixed point and since in the previous paper the per-
turbations of only the first order with respect to the precession were treated, it is now
necessary to derive the perturbations more accurately.
Lambeck (1971), of the Meudon Observatory, has already remarked that there
might be a quadratic term of time in the second-order expression for the time deriva-
tive of the longitude of the ascending node. However, it is made clear in this paper that
even for the second-order perturbations, secular terms do not appear in the expressions
of the orbital elements referred to the system proposed earlier by Kozai (1960).
In that paper, only the second-order zonal harmonics in the geopotential were used
in the disturbing function to derive the perturbations due to the precession and the
nutation. In the present paper, the perturbations are treated in a more general way,
and the results can be applied to more general problems.

Celestial Mechanics 7 (1973) 356-366. All Rights Reserved

Copyright 9 1973 by D. Reidel Publishing Company, Dordrecht-Holland
 EFFECTS OF MOTION OF EQUATORIAL P L A N E ON ORBITAL ELEMENTS OF A SATELLITE 357

2. G e o m e t r i c a l R e l a t i o n s

In order to formulate the differential equations of motion for a close satellite, it is

usually assumed that the geocentric equatorial coordinate system is inertial, and the
effect of the heliocentric motion of the Earth is taken into account as part of the solar
perturbations. In this paper, the mean equator at an initial epoch t - 0 is adopted as
the reference plane of the inertial system, and the mean equinox at this epoch deter-
mines the direction of the x-axis.
The orbital inclination, the longitude of the ascending node, and the a r g u m e n t of
perigee referred to the inertial system are denoted by J, N, and ~b, respectively,
whereas they are denoted by i, f2, and co if they are referred to the equator of date and
the mean equinox at t - 0 - that is, to the proposed coordinate system. The angle
between the mean equator at t = 0 and the equator of date is 0, and the angular distan-
ces between them are a along the orbit and ~ along the ecliptic at t - 0 . The mean
obliquity at t = 0 is %, whereas the inclination of the ecliptic with respect to the equator
of date is sl. The two angles c~ and fl are introduced as shown in Figure 1; by use of
these angles, the longitude of the ascending node referred to the proposed system, f2,
is represented as ~ - f t . The equinox of date is at ?.
Two spherical triangles with M as the vertex (Figure 1) give the following relations:

sin 0 sin a = sin s l sin ~ ,

sin 0 cos a = sin So cos sl - cos s0 sin sl cos ~ =
= sin (% - s~) + 2 sin 2 (~/2) sin s~ cos %, (1)
sin (a - f2) sin (a - N ) sin a
sin J sin i sin 0 '
sin 0 cos (a - N ) = sin ( J - i) + 2 sin 2(0-/2) sin i cos J ,
sin a cos Y = - sin (f2 - N) + 2 sin 2 (0/2) sin (a - f2) cos (0~ - N ) ,
(2)
c o s / = cos 0 cos J + sin 0 sin d cos (a - N ) ,
s i n / c o s a = cos 0 sin,J - sin 0 cos dr cos (~ - N ) ,
sin 0 cos (~z - f2) = - cos J sin i + sin J cos i cos a ,
cos (a - N) = cos a cos (~ - f2) + sin a sin (a - f2) cos i. (3)

Equations (1) represent the precession and the nutation, and Equations (2) and (3)
give the relations for the respective orbital elements between the two coordinate sys-
tems and show that i, f2, and co are functions of J, N, and 4) and of time, which appears
in the expressions of the precession and the nutation.
Partial derivatives of i, f2, and r with respect to J, N, and 4) are derived by using
Equations (2) and (3). The partial derivatives of i are derived by taking derivatives of
the first Equation of (3) and by using the second Equation of (3), as follows:

= cos a , = - sin J sin a , = 0. (4)

aJ
358 YOSHIHIDE K O Z A I AND H I R O S H I KINOSHITA

Mean Equator at t=o

lr.
M
."/
.- / ulx,/ ,,"

Equator of date /
r,

,tic at t=o [ \Orbit

Fig. 1. Orbital elements for the two systems. N a n d J a r e referred to the inertial system, a n d / 2 = c~--fl
and i are referred to the p r o p o s e d system. The difference of the a r g u m e n t s of perigee is a - - c o - rp.

The partial derivatives of f2 are computed by taking derivatives of the first Equation
of (2) and by using the third and fourth Equations of (3), as follows:

af2 sin a aQ sin J cos a c3Q

= -- = = O. (5)
aJ sin i ' aN sin i ' t?~b

On the other hand, the partial derivatives of e) are derived by equating the first and
the third members of the first Equation of (2) and by using the third and fourth Equa-
tions of (3), as follows:

= - cot i sin a ,
aJ
&9
= cos J - sin J cot i cos a,
aN

= 1. (6)
arp

3. Lagrange's Equations

The equations of motion, and therefore Lagrange's equations for variations of the
orbital elements, hold for the orbital elements referred to the inertial system; they are
 EFFECTS OF MOTION OF EQUATORIAL P L A N E ON ORBITAL ELEMENTS OF A SATELLITE 359

written as
da 2 OR
dt na Ol
de 1 - e2 OR (1 - - e2) 1/2 OR
dt na2e 8l naZe 0r
dJ
m
cotJ OR 1 OR
dt na z (1 - eZ) 1/z 8r na 2 ( 1 - - e2) 1/2 sin J ON'
dl
"--H
2 OR 1 -- e z OR
dt na Oa HaZe Oe '
de (1 - e2) 1/2 OR cotJ OR
dt na2e Oe na 2 (1 - e 2 ) 1/2 0J'
dN 1 OR
m
m
(7)
dt naZ(1 - e 2 ) 1/z sin J 0 J '

where a, e, l, and n are, respectively, the semimajor axis, the eccentricity, the mean
anomaly, and the mean motion; they are the elements that do not depend on the choice
of the coordinate system.
The disturbing function R is derived from the geopotential; it depends on the decli-
nation and on the geographical longitude referred to the equator of date. Therefore,
R is expressed as a function of a, e, i, 1,03, and ~2, and its partial derivatives with respect
to a, e, and I are easily obtained. The derivative with respect to ~b is obtained by use
of Equations (4), (5), and (6), as follows:

OR OR 003 c~R c~2 OR 0i OR

= ) ) - . (8)
0r 003 0r 0~ 0r 0i 0r 003
Therefore, the equations for a, e, and l take the same expressions for the two coordinate
systems.
Since i, 03, and O are functions of J, N, ~p, 0, and ~ and since e and 0 are functions
of time, the equations for i, 03, and s are written in the following forms:

di -- Oi dJ ~ Oi dN ~ Oi de Oi
dt c3J dt ON dt 0r dt 0t
0i [" cot J 0R 1
m

aJ [ na 2 (1 - e2) ~/2
t

~r na z (1 -- eZ) 1/z sin J ~ 4-

0i 1 0R 0i
+
aN (1 - eZ) sin J OJ +
do) 003 dJ 003 d e 003 dN 003
dt OJ dt 0 r dt ON dt at
~03 [ cot J OR 1
= -~ na 2 (1 - e2) 1/2 ~r na 2(1 -- e2) 1/2 sin J +
360 YOSHIHIDE KOZAI AND HIROSHI KINOSHITA

&o 1 0R (1 - e2) 1/2 0R

ON na 2 (1 - e2) 1/2 s i n J c~J na2e Oe
cotJ OR &o
na 2 (1 -- e2) 1/2 c~J t~t
dE2 0E2 dJ 0E2 dN 0f2 d e c~2
dt OJ dt ON dt 0(/) dt Ot
0~ [ cot J 0R 1
= ~ na 2 (1 - e 2 ) 1/2 0 r na 2 (1 - e2)1/2 sinJ ~ +
of2 1 OR Of2
(9)
ON na a (1 - e2) ~/2 sin J aJ c3t

where partial derivatives with respect to time represent differentiations through 0 and a.
As the disturbing function is expressed as a function of a, e, l, i, co, and ~2, the
partial derivatives with respect to J, 4), and N are obtained as follows:

OR OR Oi OR 0o) c~R Of2

-- ! i ,
OJ ~i OJ 0o~ OJ 0 0 OJ
OR OR
ar am'
c~R OR c~i OR Oco OR Of2
(10)
ON Oi ON &o ON Of2 ON

By use of Equations (4), (5), (6), and (10), Equations (9) are transformed into the
following form:

di m
cot/ aR 1 0R 0i
m

dt na 2 (1 - e2) 1/z &o na 2 (1 - e2) 1/2 sin i 0(2 ~ c3t'

do9 (1 - e2) 1/2 OR cot i 0R &o
dt = naZe Oe n a 2 ( 1 - e 2 ) 1/2 8i t Ot
dr2 1 0R 0f2
m

. (11)
dt na 2 (1 - e2) 1/2 sin i ai Ot

These expressions show that, owing to the motion of the equatorial plane, the par-
tial derivatives Oi/at, ao)/Ot, and a~?/Ot are introduced in Equations (11), whereas the
other terms take the same form as in the original Equations (7).

4. Solutions

From Equations (2), the expressions of i, co, and f2 as functions of J, r N, and time
are derived up to the second order of 0, as follows:
i = J - 0 cos (a - N) + (02/2) cot J sin 2 (a - N ) ,
 EFFECTS OF MOTION OF EQUATORIAL PLANE ON ORBITAL ELEMENTS OF A SATELLITE 361

f2 = N - 0 cot S sin (e - N) - (02/4) (1 + 2 cot 2 J ) sin 2 (e - N ) ,

09 = r + 0 cosec J sin (e - N) + (02/2) cot J cosec J sin 2 (a - N ) . (12)

W h e n J and N are replaced by the functions of i and f2, the partial derivatives are
expressed in the following form:

d (0 cos e) d (0 sin e)
= -- COS Q -- sin O,
Ot dt dt
~o = c o s e c / [ d (0 sin e)
cos f2 - d (0 cos e) sin (21
c3t l dt dt l
Of2 I d (0 sin e) d (0 cos a) q
n
i

- cot i cos f2 - sin f2A +

Ot dt
1 [ d (0 sin e) d(0 cose) 0 sine].
+ dt 0 cos - (13)
dt J
The expressions for 0 sine and 0 cose are derived by use of Equations (1) from
those for the lunisolar precession, the obliquity, and the nutations in longitude and
obliquity, which take the following form when the terms having amplitudes less than
0."01 are neglected:

=- 17".24 sinf2 M + 0':21 sin 2f2 M -- 1'.'27 sin2L s + 0'.'13 sinl s -

- 0'.'05 sin (2Ls + / s ) + 0'.'02 sin (2L s - / s ) -
- 0'.'20 sin 2LM + 0'.'07 sin lM -- 0'.'03 sin (2LM -- f2M) --
-- 0'.'03 sin (2LM + IM) + 50'.'3733 T ,
/31 - - eo -- 9'.'21 cos f2 M -- 0'.'09 cos 2f2 M + 0'.'55 cos 2L s +
+ 0".02 cos (2Ls + / s ) - 0".01 cos (2L s - / s ) +
+ 0'.'09 cos 2L M + 0':02 cos (2LM -- f2M) +
+ 0".01 COS (2LM + I M ) - 0'.'468 T , (14)

where OM, Ls, ls, LM, and lM are, respectively, the longitude of the ascending node of
the lunar orbit referred to the ecliptic, the m e a n longitude of the Sun, the m e a n anom-
aly of the Sun, the mean longitude of the Moon, and the mean anomaly of the Moon.
In Formulas (14), T is time measured in the unit of a year from the initial epoch.
The 0 sine and 0 cose and their time derivatives are expressed with sufficient accu-
racy as
0 sin e = (0.3979 + el - eo)sin ~ ,
0 c o s e = 0.3651 (1 - c o s ~ ) - el + eo, (15)
d (0 sin ~) de1 d~
= - - cos e x sin ~ 4- - - sin el cos ~ =
dt dt dt
d81 de
= 0.9175 sin + 0.3979 cos ~ d t '
dt
362 YOSHIHIDE KOZAI AND HIROSHI KdNOSHITA

d (0 cos a) de1
m
m
(sin eo sin el + cos eo cos el cos ~ ) +
dt dt

+
de
- - cos eo sin el sin ~ =
dt
de1 dff
m

- (0.1583 + 0.8418 c o s O ) ~- 0.3651 sin ~, - - . (16)

dt dt

F r o m E q u a t i o n s (14) a n d (16), the f o l l o w i n g e x p r e s s i o n s are d e r i v e d :

d (0 sin a) d (0 cos a)
cos f2 - sin f2 =
dt dt
= - 7'.'34n' cos (f2M -- (2 -- ~,) -- 0'.'67n' cos ( aM -- f2) --
-- 0'.'32n' COS (OM + f2 -- ~,) + 0'.'77n' cos (Y2M + f2 + ~ ) +
+ 0'.'67n' cos (Y2M + f2) + 0'.'17n' COS (2f2M -- f2 -- ~ ) -
-- 0'.'97ns cos (2Ls -- ~2 -- ~,) - 0'.'08ns cos (2Ls - f2) -
- 0':04ns cos (2Ls + f2 - if) + 0'.'0Sns cos (2Ls + f2) +
+ 0'.'02ns cos ( / s - f2 - if) + 0'.'02ns cos (/s + f2 + if) -
- 0'.'06ns cos (2Ls + Is - f2 - ~,) - 0':16nM COS (2LM -- f2 -- ~ ) --
-- 0'.'02riM COS (2LM -- Y2M -- f2 -- ~ ) -- 0'.'03rim COS (2LM + IM -- f2 -- ~ ) +
+ 3'.'08ns cos (f2 + ~ ) + 0'.'13ns cos (f2 -- if) -- 0'~07ns sin (f2 + if),
(17)
d (0 cos a)
d (0 sin a) sin f2 + cos f2 =
dt dt
= 7'.'34n' sin (Y2M -- f2 -- ~,) + 0':67n' sin (Y2M -- f2) --
-- 0'.'32n' sin (OM + f2 -- ~,) + 0'.'77n' sin (Y2M + f2 + ~ ) +
+ 0'.'67n' sin (f2M + f2) -- 0':17n' sin (2f2M -- f2 -- ~ ) +
+ 0'.'97ns sin (2Ls -- f2 -- ~,) + 0':08ns sin (2Ls - f2) -
- 0'.'04ns sin (2Ls + f2 - ~,) + 0'~08ns sin (2Ls + f2) -
- 0'.'02ns sin (/s - f2 - ~,) + 0'~02ns sin (/s + f2 + ~,) +
+ 0'~06ns sin (2Ls + ls - f2 - ~ ) + 0'.'16nM sin (2LM -- f2 -- ~,) --
-- 0'.'02rim sin (2LM -- Y2M -- f2 -- ~ ) + 0'.'03rim sin (2LM + lM -- f2 -- if) +
+ 3'~08ns sin (f2 + i f ) + 0'.'13ns sin ( f 2 - ~ , ) - 0"07ns cos (f2 + i f ) ,
(18)
w h e r e n' is the m e a n a n g u l a r velocity o f f2 M a n d w h e r e ns a n d n M are, respectively,
the m e a n m o t i o n s o f the Sun a n d the M o o n . As n' takes a smaller value t h a n ns a n d
riM, t e r m s w i t h a m p l i t u d e s less t h a n 0 " 0 3 # are neglected. T h e last three t e r m s in
E q u a t i o n s (17) a n d (18) are d e r iv e d f r o m the p r e c e s s i o n term.
I n t e g r a t i o n s o f the t w o e x p r e s s i o n s with respect to tim e are p e r f o r m e d by a s s u m i n g
t h a t f2 a n d ~ h a v e the c o n s t a n t a n g u l a r velocities f2' a n d ~ ' a n d t h a t ~ ' is very small;
 EFFECTS OF MOTION OF EQUATORIAL PLANE ON ORBITAL ELEMENTS OF A SATELLITE 363

they give the following expressions:

=IId(Odl 9cosf2 -
d (0 c o s a )
dt
sin f21 dt =

7"34n' 0'.'67n'
m
m

sin ( a M -- a- I//) yZi __ ~ t sin ( Q M -- Q) --

?/ ' - - f2'
0'.'32n' 0'~77n'
sin (OM + n - ~,) q sin (OM + (2) +
n ' + f2' n' + f 2 '
0'.'67n' O"17n'
, Q, sin (f2M + f2) + sin (2f2 M - f 2 - ~) -
n + 2n'- f2'
O'.'97ns O'~08ns
sin (2L s - f 2 - ~ ) - ~ sin (2L s - s -
2n s - f2' 2ns- f2'
O'.'04ns O'.'08n s
sin (2L s + f2 - ~) + sin (2L s + f2) +
2n s + O' 2ns + f2'
O'.'02ns O'.'02ns
+ sin ( / s - f2- ~) + sin (Is + (2 + ~ ) -
ns- Q' ns + f2'
O"06ns O'.'16nM
sin (2L s + l s -- (2 -- ~) - 2nM _ f2' sin (2L M -- (2- ~)--
3 n s - f2'
O'.'02n M
, sin (2L M - (2 M -a-~,)-
2ni- n' -- (2'
O':03n M
sin (2LM + l M - - Q - - I/t) -at-
3 n M - - g2'

3'.'08ns O':13ns O'.'07n s

+. sin (Q + r +. sin ( ~ 2 - r -4 ~os ( a + q,),
f2' f2' f2
(19)

lid (0 sin a) sinf2 + d (0 cos cz)

cos (21 dt =
-i = ,it dt
7'.'34n' 0'.'67n'
F/t __ ~,~t COS ( ~ M -- 0 - - ~/r F/' - - ~"2t cos ( O M - n ) +

0"32n' 0'.'77n'
n' + g2' cos (OM + (2 - if) n' + f2' ~os (aM + a + ~ ) -

0'~67n' O"17n'
cos (f2M + n) + -- O' cos (2f2M - a - ~ , ) -
n' + (2' 2n'
O'.'97ns O'.'08n s
~os ( 2 L ~ - c2 - r cos (2L s - f2) +
2ns- f2' 2 n s - f2'
O':04ns O':08n s
+ cos (2Ls + ~ - ~,) - ~ cos (2L s + f2) +
2ns + f2' 2 n s + f2'
364 YOSHIHIDE KOZAI AND HIROSHI KINOSHITA

O'.'02ns O'.'02ns
+ cos(/s - g2 - ~) - n s + (2; cos (/s + f2 + ~ ) -
u -- At

O'.'06ns O'.'16nM
cos (2Ls + ls -- f2 - ~) - 2nM -- f2; cos ( 2 L M - ( 2 - i f ) +
3 ns - f2'
O'.'02n M
+ cos (2LM -- f2M -- a -
2n M -- n' --/2'

O'.'03n M
cos (2LM + I M - f 2 - i f ) -
3 n M - - f2'

3'.'08 ns 0'.' 13 ns O'.'07ns

(ca + r (ca - r sin (f2 + ~ ) .
f2' f2' f2'
(20)

Although the amplitudes of all the terms in (19) and (20) are very small, not all of them
are negligible for precise studies of satellite motions (Kozai, 1968). And when one of
the divisors is very small, the corresponding amplitudes may become rather large.
The integration of the second term in t3f2/at of (13) gives with sufficient accuracy
the following expressions:

K
lfld(O
= ~.
sin
dt
) 0 cos 0~ -
d (O c~ C~)O sin c~l d t _
dt

= _0.199 eo)d s i n r sin6 d(el-eo)]

dt clt dt =

- 0.199 sin ~ (el - eo) - 0'.'92 [sin (f2~t + ~) - sin (f2M -- ff)]. (21)

Then the perturbations for the inclination are expressed as

i=io+l. (22)

For the argument of perigee, the longitude of the ascending node and the m e a n - a n o m -
aly secondary effects from the secular motions of these angular elements should be
included by integrating the following expressions:

c3i p2 n (2 - 2.5 sin 2 i 9I = 50' sin i. 1, for co,

al
ai 3J2 1
~ p-~ n cos i 9I = - a' tan i. I, for f2,

c3i p2 n(1 e2) 1/2 (1 1.5 sin 2 i) .1 = 30' (1 - e2) 1/2 sin i.I, for l,

(23)
where it is assumed that the J2 terms in the geopotential are dominant in the expres-
 EFFECTS OF MOTION OF EQUATORIAL P L A N E ON ORBITAL ELEMENTS OF A SATELLITE 365

sions of the secular motions and that

-
{3J2'~
~k2p2,] n cos i.

Therefore, the perturbations are written as

co = coo + co't + H cosec i + 5G sin i,

f2 = f2o + f 2 ' t - H c o t / + K - G t a n / ,
l = lo + nt + 3G(1 - e 2 ) 1/2 sin/, (24)
where

G = f ~2'I dt. (25)

The expression of G is easily derived by integrating (20) on the assumption that the
angles in the arguments are linear functions of time.

5. Remarks

Concerning the first-order perturbations, (22) and (24) agree with those derived in the
previous paper (Kozai, 1960) when cos ~ and sin ~ are replaced by 1 and 0, respectively.
However, as all the signs of the nutation terms given in the previous paper are in error,
the signs of all the terms except for that due to the precession

COS
sin N terms)

in the expressions of the perturbations should be reversed in the previous paper, as

Lambeck (1971) noted.
In the previous paper, the perturbations were derived by replacing the disturbing
function R by the secular part with factor J2 in the geopotential. The method in this
paper is more general, and therefore the perturbations are derived without writing the
disturbing function explicitly, except for the secondary effects. And since the preces-
sion term in ~ is here in trigonometric arguments, even in the expressions for J, N,
and ~b no mixed secular term appears.
However, it is still true that the amplitudes of most of the terms for the perturbations
in i, f2, and co are reduced; therefore, the coordinate system proposed in the previous
paper can be recommended even if the epoch of observations is far from the initial
epoch when the fixed point is defined.
When sin ~ is replaced by ~ and when the time derivative of N is written as the
function of N and J in Equation (7), a quadratic term of time appears through 02.
This is what Lambeck (1971) worried about. However, when J and N are replaced by
the functions of i and O, the quadratic term disappears, being compensated for by a
similar term in the geometric relation of J - i . Therefore, even though the method in
the previous paper is followed, no secular term appears in the expressions of the second-
366 YOSHIHIDE KOZAI AND HIROSHI KINOSHITA

order perturbations for i, f2, and 09, although mixed secular terms with very small
amplitudes do appear.
This method can be applied to a more general problem when the partial derivatives
in (13) are replaced by the following exact relations:
ai dO d0~
- - m
m
cos (a - f2) + sin 0 sin (c~ - s
at dt dt
809 dO da
= cosec i d-~ sin (c~ - f2) + -dt
- sin 0 cos (a - f2)]
at
8o
= (1 _ c o s O ) d0~ cot i [dO sin (a - f2) + dc~ sin 0 cos (c~ - f2)] . (26)
~t dt d-t dt

Acknowledgements
This work was supported in part by grant number N G R 09-015-002 from the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration.

References

Kozai, Y.: 1960, Astron. J. 65, 621-623.

Kozai, Y.: 1968, Publ. Astron. Soc. Japan 20, 24-26.
Lambeck, K." 1971, private communication.