February 5, 2021

Abstract:

On the basis of the orbital data of the METEOR M1 spacecraft (NORAD Catalog Number 35865), possible reasons for the deviations of the local solar time of the ascending node (LST AN) from the initial value are considered. It was found that the main reason for the deviations is the change in inclination. This occurs as a result of the action of solar gravitational perturbations and leads to a change in the LST of the node according to the law, which is close to a parabola for an interval of up to 7 years. In general, these variations are long-term with a period of ≈28 years. A simplified system of differential equations describing the evolution of the inclination and the LST AN is proposed. The results of the integration of this system of equations are in good agreement with real data on the evolution of the orbital parameters of the METEOR M1 spacecraft.