Drag on the Lageos satellite

Abstract

The drag data on the Lageos satellite collected between 1976 and 1987 are analyzed, and the cause of fluctuations observed at times when the orbit intersects the earth's shadow is investigated. The average drag on the Lageos consists of three types of drag: the Yarkovsky thermal drag, which accounts for about 70 percent of the observed drag; the neutral particle drug, accounting for about 14 percent of the drag for a hydrogen number density of 5 x 10 to the 9th/cu m; and the charged particle drag, which accounts for 12 percent of average drag at a number density of 3 x 10 to the 9th and a temperature of 5000 K in the plasmasphere for a satellite potential of -1 V. The observed drag agrees with the particle environment at the Lageos altitude and the drag models. However, the fluctuations in Lageos's along-track acceleration when the orbit intersects the earth's shadow are still not well understood.