Orbital Inclination Change - Calculation

Calculation

In a pure inclination change, only the inclination of the orbit is changed while all other orbital characteristics (radius, shape, etc.) remains the same as before. Delta-v required for an inclination change can be calculated as follows:

where:

  • is the orbital eccentricity
  • is the argument of periapsis
  • is the true anomaly
  • is the mean motion
  • is the semi-major axis

For more complicated manoeuvres which may involve a combination of change in inclination and orbital radius, the amount of delta v is the vector difference between the velocity vectors of the initial orbit and the desired orbit at the transfer point.

Read more about this topic:  Orbital Inclination Change

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