Lissajous orbit
Quasi-periodic orbit around Lagrangian points used by spacecraft.
Last updated
A Lissajous orbit is the natural motion of a satellite around a collinear libration point in a two-body system.[1] These orbits require less momentum change for station keeping than halo orbits, which follow a simple circular or elliptical path.[1] Spacecraft at Lagrangian points must use propulsion for station-keeping because those points are dynamically unstable.[2][1]
Quick Facts
- Type
- Orbital trajectory
- Named after
- Jules Antoine Lissajous
- Related points
- Lagrangian points L1
- L2
- L3
- L4
- L5
- Used by missions
- ACE
- SOHO
- DSCOVR
- WMAP
- Genesis
- Herschel
- Planck
- Gaia
- THEMIS
- Queqiao
Facts from the source article.
Key facts and history
No insertion maneuver was needed to achieve this orbit.[1] The ACE mission orbits the L1 libration point, about 1.5 million km from Earth.[3] ACE uses orbit maneuvers to keep the spacecraft bound to L1, consuming about 3 lbm of fuel per year.[3] Queqiao was the world's first communication satellite operating in that orbit.[4]
The Herschel spacecraft, launched by the European Space Agency, required about sixty days to reach its Lissajous orbit at the L2 point of the Sun-Earth system.[1] Herschel's Lissajous orbit had an average amplitude of 700 000 km and a period of 178 days.[1] The orbit took Herschel 500 000 kilometres above and below the ecliptic plane.[1] The DSCOVR spacecraft, launched in 2015, was sent to a lissajous orbit around the L1 Lagrangian point between the Earth and the Sun.[5]
What the cited sources add
The ESA Science & Technology account explains that Lissajous orbits are the natural motion around a collinear libration point.[1] The same source notes that orbits about L2 are dynamically unstable with a time constant of about 23 days.[1] The ACE mission description states that two Z-axis maneuvers were initially used to prevent the Sun-Earth-Spacecraft angle from dropping below 4.75° due to natural evolution of the Lissajous orbit.[3] The DSCOVR launch report describes the target orbit parameters: a perigee of 187 km and an apogee of 1,241,000 km.[5]
The WMAP observatory account states that its orbit about Sun-Earth L2 provides a very stable thermal environment.[6]
References
- "ESA Science & Technology: Orbit/Navigation", European Space Agency, 14 June 2009. facts only, no text reused. sci.esa.int
- Wikipedia, "Lissajous orbit" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "ESA Science & Technology: Orbit/Navigation", European Space Agency, 14 June 2009 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- "ACE Mission", izw1.caltech.edu. facts only, no text reused. izw1.caltech.edu
- Jones, "Chang'e-4 relay satellite enters halo orbit around Earth-Moon L2, microsatellite in lunar orbit", SpaceNews, 14 June 2018. facts only, no text reused. spacenews.com
- Bergin, "SpaceX Falcon 9 successfully launches the DSCOVR spacecraft", NASASpaceFlight.com, 2015-02-11. facts only, no text reused. nasaspaceflight.com
- "WMAP Observatory: Trajectory and Orbit", map.gsfc.nasa.gov. facts only, no text reused. map.gsfc.nasa.gov
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Lissajous orbit (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
More in Orbits And Celestial Mechanics
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Lissajous orbit (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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