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A solar-flux temperature relationship derived from multiple-satellite orbital decay

Hall, Doyle T. 1, Anz-meador, Phillip1
Affiliation data not available1

Document details

Publishing year2001 PublisherESA Publishing typeConference Name of conference3rd European Conference on Space Debris
Pagesn/a Volume
3
Issue
1
Editors
H. Lacoste

Abstract

We report an analysis of the orbital decay rates of 95 satellites to determine the best-fit relationship between solar 10.7cm flux and Earth's globally-averaged exospheric temperature. The analysis focuses on reproducing atmospheric drag rates observed over a period spanning nearly 3 solar cycles, and yields globally-averaged exospheric temperatures appropriate for use in models that project Earth's satellite and orbital debris populations many decades into the future. Exospheric temperatures derived using an oblate-Earth/rotating atmosphere drag model are uniformly larger than best-fit temperatures derived using a spherical-Earth/non-rotating atmosphere model, an effect that should be included in long-term orbital debris projection models.

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