METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR SIMULTANEOUSLY STARTING SATELLITES ON NON-COPLANAR ORBITS USING VERY ECCENTRIC ORBITS AND ATMOSPHERIC BRAKING

摘要

P A first satellite is placed almost directly by a launcher into a final orbit (15). BR/ A second satellite placed on the same launcher is first transferred to a highly elliptical orbit (12a) of which the half-major axis is located in the initial orbital plane (12), then the apogee (19) of the waiting orbit (12a) is brought to a change of inclination of the orbit of waiting (12bis) and its perigee, to place the second satellite on an intermediate orbit (14). BR/ A maneuver is carried out comprising at least one step involving atmospheric braking in the vicinity of the perigee (6a, 6b ) of the intermediate orbit so as to lower the altitude of the apogee (19, 19a, 19b, 19c) of the intermediate orbit (14, 14a, 14b, 14c) and provide to the second satellite a pulse at the apogee (19c) of the intermediate orbit (14c) so as to raise the perigee and transform the intermediate orbit (14 c) a final orbit (11) with orbital parameters whose values are substantially different from orbital parameters of the final orbit (15). / P