ESA Science & Technology - SMART-1 Osculating orbit up to 06.06.04

In this diagram the osculating orbits at launch (GTO) and at different times are plotted. Clearly visible are the large effects that the operations of the electric propulsion have had on the orbit expansion. The height of the apogee, in particular, has dramatically increased and now exceeds 100 000 km.

Since the start of the mission, the electric propulsion system has changed the orbital parameters as follows:

• The semi-major axis from 24 626 km to 73 721 km
• The perigee altitude from 656 km to 19 333 km
• The apogee altitude from 35 880 km to 115 352 km
• The orbital period from 10 hours 41 minutes to 2 days 7 hours 20 minutes