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A relativistic motion integrator: numerical accuracy and illustration with BepiColombo and Mars-NEXT

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 January 2010

A. Hees  and
S. Pireaux
A. Hees
Affiliation:
Royal Observatory of Belgium (ROB), Avenue Circulaire 3, 1180 Bruxelles, Belgiumaurelien.hees@oma.be
S. Pireaux
Affiliation:
Royal Observatory of Belgium (ROB), Avenue Circulaire 3, 1180 Bruxelles, Belgiumsophie.pireaux@oma.be
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Abstract

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Today, the motion of spacecraft is still described by the classical Newtonian equations of motion plus some relativistic corrections. This approach might become cumbersome due to the increasing precision required. We use the Relativistic Motion Integrator (RMI) approach to numerically integrate the native relativistic equations of motion for a spacecraft. The principle of RMI is presented. We compare the results obtained with the RMI method with those from the usual Newton plus correction approach for the orbit of the BepiColombo (around Mercury) and Mars-NEXT (around Mars) orbiters. Finally, we present a numerical study of RMI and we show that the RMI approach is relevant to study the orbit of spacecraft.

Keywords

gravitationrelativitymethods: numerical
Type
Contributed Papers
Information
Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union , Volume 5 , Symposium S261: Relativity in Fundamental Astronomy: Dynamics, Reference Frames, and Data Analysis , April 2009 , pp. 144 - 146
Copyright
Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2010

References

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