Orbital Elements

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Orbital Elements

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A set of seven parameters defining the orbit of a body attracted by a central, inverse-square force. </dd>
Several different set of parameters have been used. For artificial satellites the elements usually given are: longitude of the ascending node, Ω; inclination of the orbit plane, i; argument of perigee,w; eccentricity, e; semimajor axis, a; mean anomaly, M; and epoch, t_o. </dd>

References

This article is based on NASA's Dictionary of Technical Terms for Aerospace Use