Numerical studies on chaotic planar motion of satellites in an elliptic orbit (Q1179427)

The authors consider the non-autonomous, periodic differential equation describing attitude motion of a satellite with an elliptic planar orbit. For small values of the eccentricity, Melnikov's integral is calculated to conclude that the system is non-integrable. Subsequently, iterations of the Poincaré map are numerically computed for different values of the eccentricity and of the inertia moment ratio. These computations show regions of regular and chaotic motion for relatively small eccentricity values and an onset of global chaos for larger values.