How to fix an out of alignment geostationary satellite network

[Lazro]

So I set up a network of three geostationary satellites, but then realized that the last one had drifted out of its position after only one day! Now it's completely wonky and is somewhere in between the other two in terms of position. What do I do to get it back to its proper position quickly?

[Cheebsta]

So I set up a network of three geostationary satellites, but then realized that the last one had drifted out of its position after only one day! Now it's completely wonky and is somewhere in between the other two in terms of position. What do I do to get it back to its proper position quickly?

Raise or lower orbit depending which way is shorter to get back to where you want to be. Might take a couple rotations/burns to make sure you don't go too far.

[Lazro]

I might have been a little unclear, the bad satellite is nearly in geostationary orbit, but it's just off, maybe a few minutes either way of being there. The other two are in good orbits.

[dave4002000]

The only way you are going to be able to move the sat that's out of position is by altering it's orbit. If you want it to move forward in relation to the other two, then lower the orbit slightly, wait a couple rotations, Then raise the orbit back up to geostat altitude. Conversely, if you want it to move backwards, in relation, to the other two, raise it's orbit slightly for a couple rotations.

[AnalogAddict]

It'd be really convenient to have some Engineer mod or such so you can easily view your period. You want it to be 6 hours, with 2 hours between you and the next craft since you have three total, therefore if you are 15 minutes off, then change your period by 15 minutes for one orbit, or 7.5 minutes for 2 orbits, 5 for 3, etc... how much delta-v do you have for corrections and how far off are your other satellites I suppose is where this factor comes into play. I find it easy to adjust if I establish one satellite in good GeoSync orbit then use that data to modify the others to match.

I presume your satellites are already in a good orbit with 6hr periods, so basically the adjustment of time is for their position relative to your other satellites and only for the number of orbits you determine.

Of course I've also drawn a circle with lines at each 120 degree interval to hold to my monitor and make sure my satellites are in order.

[draeath]

To calculate your period, you just need to figure out the circumference of your orbit and then use your orbital velocity

Assuming you are in a nearly (or perfectly, ideally) circular orbit:

C = 2 * À * r

where:

À = pi (just in case it won't render for you)

r = radius (apoapsis + periapsis / 2, to take care of any minor skew)

Once you have the circumference, divide it by your orbital velocity. You now have your orbital period!

Remember the units though, your radius (as above) will be in kilometers but your orbital velocity is shown in meters. If you're not in a circular orbit getting the circumference is a bit more "interesting." The averaging of your apoapsis and periapsis though should approximate well enough for small eccentricities.

[maltesh]

If you're going to calculate it, you really should use the standard Orbital Period formula.

If you just want to know what it is in-game, pause the game. Hit F2 to hide the UI. Hover the mouse over your Periapsis to find your Time to Periapsis. Hover it over your apoapsis to find the time to Apoapsis. Subtract the smaller value from the larger value, and multiply the result by two. That's your orbital period.

[BluetoothThePirate]

I was doing some calculations earlier to figure out the timing needed to deploy keostationary satellites, and I figured something out. A 6 hour rotational period means 1 degree every minute. So if you need to move a geostationary satellite 5 degrees forward (i.e. West) burn at apokee to bring your orbital period up by five minutes, and you'll be right in position the next time you get back there, then burn the other way to recircularize. If you need to save fuel and need to make a big change, set up so you cover the distance in several orbits, that minimizes the delta-v. So if you need to move back 30 degrees, change your period by 10 minutes, wait three orbits, then change back. You'll use a third of the fuel.