Flight Path Angle
The flight path angle is the angle between the orbiting body's velocity vector (= the vector tangent to the instantaneous orbit) and the local horizontal. Under standard assumptions the flight path angle satisfies the equation:
where:
- is the specific relative angular momentum of the orbit,
- is orbital speed of orbiting body,
- is radial distance of orbiting body from central body,
- is the flight path angle
Read more about this topic: Elliptic Orbit
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“The inhabitants of earth behold commonly but the dark and shadowy under side of heaven’s pavement; it is only when seen at a favorable angle in the horizon, morning or evening, that some faint streaks of the rich lining of the clouds are revealed.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)