An analytic satellite theory using gravity and a dynamic atmosphere

An analytical solution is given for the motion of an artifical Earth satellite under the combined influences of gravity and atmospheric drag. The gravitational effects of the zonal harmonicsJ ₂,J ₃, andJ ₄ are included, and the drag effects of any arbitrary dynamic atmosphere are included. By a dynamic atmosphere, we mean any of the modern empirical models which use various observed solar and geophysical parameters as inputs to produce a dynamically varying atmosphere model. The subtleties of using such an atmosphere model with an analytic theory are explored, and real world data is used to determine the optimum implementation. Performance is measured by predictions against real world satellites. As a point of reference, predictions against a special perturbations model are also given.