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From: brent@phoenix.UUCP (Brent P. Callaghan)
Newsgroups: net.space
Subject: Re: Re: Getting stuck in the middle of space
Message-ID: <1182@phoenix.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 23-May-85 11:14:19 EDT
Article-I.D.: phoenix.1182
Posted: Thu May 23 11:14:19 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 25-May-85 00:02:14 EDT
References: <1713@mordor.UUCP> <343@aurora.UUCP>
Organization: AT&T Information Systems, Lincroft NJ
Lines: 23

Al Globus writes:
> This is a non-problem, unless the astronaut is exactly at the center of
> mass of the space vehicle.  If the center of mass is at a different place
> the astronaut will have a slightly different orbit around the Earth and
> will eventually reach the side of the space ship.

Surely this depends on whether the spacecraft has earth synchronous
rotation or not.

A three axis stabilized spacecraft pointing its instruments at
various stellar objects does not rotate.  If the center of mass of
such a spacecraft is in a circular orbit, then points distributed
about this point will be in various elliptical orbits which maintain
a constant separation.

If we assume a polar or equatorial orbit, wouldn't the perturbations
be negligible ?
-- 
				
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