A Study on the Effect of J2 Perturbation on Optimum Delta-V for Collision Avoidance Maneuver

Abstract

The focus of this study aims to understand the probability of collision between any two objects orbiting the earth. Iridium 73 is considered as the primary satellite and the dead satellite Taurus is considered as the debris for the collision probability study. The numerical results agree favorably with the predicted values from the explicit collision probability method. The collision avoidance maneuver is performed to safeguard the satellite by changing its semi-major axis and bringing back to the same orbit after maneuvering. Considering a range of true anomalies, the optimum delta-V is obtained by trial and error method. The effect of J2 perturbation of the earth on the optimum delta-V is carefully studied and has been observed to be less than that of an unperturbed condition. This study shows the significance of the collision avoidance maneuver and the J2 perturbation to perform a safe maneuver.