Consideration of lifetime limitation for spent stages in GTO

Abstract The evolution of objects in geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) is determined by a complex interplay of atmospheric drag and luni-solar gravity. These orbits are characterized by periodic changes in perigee altitudes caused by gravitational perturbations of the Sun and the Moon. The aim of this paper is to investigate the basic physics of the luni-solar perturbations in GTO and their interaction with drag perturbation. A detailed analysis is made to study the influence of launch time on the orbital lifetime. This study reveals that even minute changes in the launch time can result in very large changes in the lifetime. The analysis is applied to the orbital evolution of the orbiting upper stage of the first development flight of the Indian Geo Stationary Satellite Launch Vehicle GSLV-D1, which took place on 18 April 2001. By appropriate selection of the launch time, re-entry in around 600 days is expected.