Influence of geomagnetic field on the motion of low satellites

The first aim of the present work is to compute a more accurate and recent model for the Earth’s magnetic field. The second aim is to determine the effects of the Earth’s magnetic field on the motion of a charged artificial satellite to evaluate the variations of the orbital elements of the satellite due to these effects. The magnetic field and its variation with time have been studied at different heights, longitudes and latitudes. The geomagnetic field is considered as a multiple potential field and the electrical charge of the satellite is assumed to be constant. A new computer code has been constructed to follow the components of the magnetic field in spherical harmonic models. The Gauss equations are solved numerically. The results concentrate on the computation of the numerical values of orbital perturbation for the case of a low Earth satellite. RS-1 satellite and space craft gravity probe B (GPB) are chosen as cases of studies for a detailed numerical analysis.