SINGLE-BODY ORBIT OF AN ASTEROID OF AN IRREGULAR FORM: TWO SPHERES TOGETHER, ELLIPTICAL AND SQUARE

Abstract

In this article, he presents a problem situation in which the orbits are calculated around an asteroid with a nonspherical shape of a satellite. To simplify the calculation, simulations were carried out in two dimensions (2D) around an asteroid composed of two circular masses, an asteroid with an elliptic shape, and a square shaped asteroid. To solve these problems numerically, Runge
Kutta 4 was implemented in the python3 environment. As a result, it is obtained that the shape of the asteroids affects the orbit of the satellite. This poses a challenge for the planning of asteroid missions, since the mass distribution does not allow to determine the type of orbit.