East-west stationkeeping requirements of 24-h satellites due to Earth's triaxiality and luni-solar effects

Ignoring luni-solar perturbations, analytical solution for longitude deviation of the ‘stroboscopic’ mean center of 24-h satellites ground trace in the neighborhood of a prespecified station is obtained. The initial semimajor axis for two-maneuver east-west stationkeeping is then deduced. Finally, the luni-solar long and short period effects on this initial semimajor axis are discussed.