In astrodynamics specific relative angular momentum (
) of orbiting body (
) relative to central body (
) is the relative angular momentum of
per unit mass. Specific relative angular momentum plays a pivotal role in definition of orbit equations.
Specific relative angular momentum (
)is defined as cross product of position vector and velocity vector of
:
where:
Under standard assumptions for a orbiting body in a trajectory around central body at any given time the
vector is perpendicular to the osculating orbital plane defined by orbital position and velocity vectors.
The magnitude of
is denoted as
:
For an elliptical orbit, it is twice the area per unit time swept out, hence twice the area of the ellipse divided by the orbital period, hence
, which is
.
The units of
are km2s-1.
Last updated: 10-18-2005 21:13:17