How far the orbit may be inclined, in degrees. An inclined Satellite's
sub-point swings this far north and south of the equator each day, the
figure of eight an inclined geosynchronous Satellite is known by.
The bound is a few degrees rather than a fraction of one because an
operator that stops correcting north and south lets the inclination grow
by about 0.85 degrees a year, and the rule has to go on catching such a
Satellite: for every Observer who keeps it in sight the search cannot end,
and they are the great majority. What that costs is measured rather than
assumed (oracle/geostationary.py): a Satellite exactly at this bound does
rise and set for the ring of Observers at the edge of its Footprint — 56
of a 612-point grid over the Earth — but it climbs no more than 8.2
degrees above their horizon, under the 10 a Visible window needs, so the
Passes refused along with theirs are grazings of a Satellite no eye could
see. Beyond this bound lies the wider geosynchronous class — the
navigation and Tundra orbits inclined by tens of degrees — which crosses
the sky and has Passes worth finding.
How far the orbit may be inclined, in degrees. An inclined Satellite's sub-point swings this far north and south of the equator each day, the figure of eight an inclined geosynchronous Satellite is known by.
The bound is a few degrees rather than a fraction of one because an operator that stops correcting north and south lets the inclination grow by about 0.85 degrees a year, and the rule has to go on catching such a Satellite: for every Observer who keeps it in sight the search cannot end, and they are the great majority. What that costs is measured rather than assumed (
oracle/geostationary.py): a Satellite exactly at this bound does rise and set for the ring of Observers at the edge of its Footprint — 56 of a 612-point grid over the Earth — but it climbs no more than 8.2 degrees above their horizon, under the 10 a Visible window needs, so the Passes refused along with theirs are grazings of a Satellite no eye could see. Beyond this bound lies the wider geosynchronous class — the navigation and Tundra orbits inclined by tens of degrees — which crosses the sky and has Passes worth finding.