CENTRAL-FORCE MOTION

When a particle moves under the influence of a force directed toward a fixed center of attraction, the motion
is called central-force motion. The most common example of central-force motion is the orbital movement
of planets and satellites

Motion of a Single Body

Consider a particle of mass m (representing satellite) moving under
the action of the central gravitational attraction

here Me - mass of the attracting body (representing planet), which is

assumed to be fixed,
G - universal gravitational constant
r - distance between the centers of the masses.
The most convenient coordinate system to use is polar coordinates in the plane of motion since F will always
be in the negative r-direction and there is no force in the ϴ direction.

Eqn 1

Eqn 2

The second equation when multiplied by r/m gives

Eqn 3
where h is constant of integration

If dA is the area swept by the radius vector r as it moves through an angle ϴ, it is given as

Then the rate of change is given by the equation

Comparing that with Eqn 3

This conclusion is expressed in Kepler’s second law of planetary motion, which states that the areas swept
through in equal times are equal.

A change of variables is important in central forces which turns the equation into a linear differential
equation with constant coefficients, and these can always be solved analytically. Let us describe this
coordinate transformation.
Substituting this in equation 1

This is a nonhomogeneous linear differential equation whose solution is of the form

Eqn 4

where C and φ are integration constants. This equation represents the free-flight trajectory of the satellite. It
is the equation of a conic section expressed in terms of polar coordinates.

Geometric Interpretation
The interpretation of Equation 4 requires knowledge of the
equations for conic sections. A conic section is defined as the
locus of a point P that moves in such a way that the ratio of its
distance to a focus, or fixed point F, to its perpendicular
distance to a fixed line DD called the directrix, is constant.
This constant ratio will be denoted as e and is called the
eccentricity

Taking inverse on both sides

Comparing it with Equation 4

Eqn 5

The constants h and C are determined from the data obtained for the position and velocity of the satellite at
the end of the power-flight trajectory. if the initial height or distance to the space vehicle is measured from
the center of the earth, and its initial speed is at the beginning of its free flight, then the constant h may be
obtained from Equation 3

where
To determine C, substitute ϴ = 0, r = r0, h = rovo and φ = 0(p rovided the polar angle is measured from the x
axis) in Equation 4

Eqn 6
The equation for the free-flight trajectory therefore becomes

Eqn 7

The type of path traveled by the satellite is determined

from the value of the eccentricity of the conic section

Case 1: Circle (e = 0)
Substituting e = 0 in equation 5 yields C = 0 (since h,
G, Me cannot be zero)

Where vc is the minimum speed required to launch a

satellite into a circular orbit and ro represents a
minimum height for launching

Case 2: Parabola (e = 1)
Substituting e = 1 in equation 5

Substituting this in equation 6

Case 3: Ellipse (e < 1)

All the trajectories attained by planets and
most satellites are elliptical.
For a satellite’s orbit about the earth, the
minimum distance rp (perigee) from the
orbit to the center of the earth O (which is
located at one of the foci of the ellipse) is
given as

(can be derived by putting ϴ = 0 in Eqn 7)

The maximum distance ra (apogee) from the orbit to the center of the earth O is given as
Note – Can be derived by putting ϴ = 180
in Eqn 7

The half length of semi-major and minor axis are thus given as

Eqn 8
Area of elipse is given as

The areal velocity which on integration yields . Substituting this in the above
equation, the time required to make one orbital revolution is given as

Eqn 9

The velocities at perigee and apogee are given as

The relationship between the semimajor axis, the semiminor axis, and the eccentricity for an elliptical orbit
is given as

Eqn 10

KEPLERS LAW OF PLANETARY MOTION

The fact that the planets do indeed follow elliptic orbits about the sun was discovered by the German
astronomer Johannes Kepler.

1. Every planet travels in its orbit such that the line joining it to the center of the sun sweeps over equal areas
in equal intervals of time, whatever the line’s length.

2. The orbit of every planet is an ellipse with the sun placed at one of its foci.

3. The square of the period of any planet is directly proportional to the cube of the major axis of its orbit.