How do I space out satellites evenly in an orbit?
I'm playing career mode with RemoteTech. A major task I'm facing is deploying a network of communication satellites in keostationary orbit. As I understand it, three spaced out evenly across the orbit would be the ideal configuration.
Putting satellites into KSO is easy enough, but how do I go about the spaced out evenly part? Should I simply launch them 2 (6-hour orbit divided by 3 satellites) hours apart, or are there other methods?
Best Answer
Another approach would be to give them a little bit extra fuel for maneuvers and get them as close as you can to being evenly spaced, then decide one of them to use as the baseline, and move the other two in relation to that one. Set the base satellite as your target, then play around with planning small retrograde or prograde burns until you get the correct distance at closest approach. The correct distance should be (orbital height + radius of Kerbin)*sqrt(3). Formula gotten from here, radius of circumscribed circle, solved for side length (a).
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What is a Keosynchronous orbit?
from https://wiki.kerbalspaceprogram.com/wiki/KEO. Kerbisynchronous Equatorial Orbit (or KEO for short) is the stationary orbit of the planet Kerbin, a very useful orbit for satellites. A spacecraft on this orbit will appear stationary when viewed from the surface.Do all satellites travel in the same direction?
Usually satellites orbit in the direction of Earth's rotation, but there are some satellites that travel in the opposite direction. Certain satellites, such as specific weather satellites, even manage to "hover" above one specific area on Earth's surface by rotating over the equator and orbiting once a day.How do satellites stay in position?
A satellite maintains its orbit by balancing two factors: its velocity (the speed it takes to travel in a straight line) and the gravitational pull that Earth has on it.Can two satellites have the same orbit?
An added benefit of having two satellites in the same orbit is that, together, they will provide twice the data for forecasting the weather and monitoring the environment. It is important to note, however, that \u201cdouble\u201d does not mean \u201csame.\u201d As NOAA-20 and Suomi NPP orbit the Earth, the planet spins beneath them.How To Understand Satellites In Its Orbit
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Answer 2
I have created an Excel Workbook that will calculate this precisely for you. You can find it here: Satellite Spacing Calculator
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