General Question General Mission Analysis Tool - Orbit Irregularity help

wmunsell

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there is something weird going on with my orbit that i cant seem to figure out. i configured the following (image 1) spacecraft that does not have any form of propulsion and is simply being propagated for a day. after orbiting roughly 15 minutes the SMA drops about 13 km and then stabilizes. i have no idea what is causing the spacecraft to drop so quickly but then stop dropping. the next image (image 2) is the report output showing the change in SMA. the default propagator (image 3) does not have any drag configured or point masses.

it would be immensely helpful if anyone could perhaps help me understand what exactly is happening and why my spacecraft would have such a substantial and quick drop initially but then level out all on its own, all within minutes of orbit.

(image 1)
1645631377850.png

(image 2)
1645631604419.png

(image 3)
1645631717528.png
 
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