Hello!
Just the other day I was reading on Apollo 16 mission and came across on the interesting launch of a PFS2 subsatellite. More reading on NASA's science website reveal plausible explanation that mascon's gravitational perturbations are cause of it's ultimate destiny and, although I was previously aware of mascons, I was dumbfounded to find out that their influence can bring a satellite down from a 100km-sized orbit in a matter of weeks! By a chance, I had a spaceship just sitting in Brighton Beach
)) so I flew PSF2ish orbit for some time (97x120km, inc ~11, lan ~250, periapsis being quite high north) and I didn't feel nothing but a mild, oscillatory 0,1km perturbations in some 10-20 revolutions. I didn't track actual trajectory (does anyone know true initial orbit of PSF2?), but it seems that Orbiter doesn't realistically model such influence. Or am I wrong that I didn't try long enough? Should I try setting LAN so orbit goes over any particular maria?
Just the other day I was reading on Apollo 16 mission and came across on the interesting launch of a PFS2 subsatellite. More reading on NASA's science website reveal plausible explanation that mascon's gravitational perturbations are cause of it's ultimate destiny and, although I was previously aware of mascons, I was dumbfounded to find out that their influence can bring a satellite down from a 100km-sized orbit in a matter of weeks! By a chance, I had a spaceship just sitting in Brighton Beach
)) so I flew PSF2ish orbit for some time (97x120km, inc ~11, lan ~250, periapsis being quite high north) and I didn't feel nothing but a mild, oscillatory 0,1km perturbations in some 10-20 revolutions. I didn't track actual trajectory (does anyone know true initial orbit of PSF2?), but it seems that Orbiter doesn't realistically model such influence. Or am I wrong that I didn't try long enough? Should I try setting LAN so orbit goes over any particular maria?
