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= High Apogee Construction = = High Apogee Construction Orbit =

High Apogee Construction Orbit


The low cost of launch into high apogee orbits enables the assembly of large spacecraft from 5 tonne components. If the apogee is very high, then a small Δv at apogee can raise the perigee of the orbit well above relatively crowded LEO orbits. For this discussion, assume 2000 km altitude is adequate, and a 5 stellar day delivery cycle, hence a http://launchloop.com/StellarDayOrbits apogee. At the first apogee, the initial perigee radius of 6378+80 = 6458 km is raised to 8378 km

The launch loop will be located south of the equator for gentle and steady weather. 8 degrees south latitude, east of French Polynesia and the west coast of South America may be the best region for launch loop deployments.

The earth rotates once per stellar day (relative to the fixed stars) every 86174.0989 seconds. The launch loop rotates under the perigee of an orbit at exactly this rate. In order to add another component to an orbiting assembly, it should be launched as the assembly is near perigee, overhead, timed within milliseconds. This can only happen if perigee is synchronized with the Earth's stellar day rotation, with corrections for tidal effects and the equatorial bulge.

The first component of the assembly will be a thrust platform, with enough precision ΔV capability to line up exactly with subsequent components.

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HighApogeeConstruction (last edited 2020-08-28 19:03:17 by KeithLofstrom)