Cosmos 462 (1971-106A): Orbit determination and analysis

Cosmos 462 (1971-106A) was launched on 3 December 1971 into an orbit inclined at 65.75 deg to the equator, with a perigee height of 230 km and apogee height of 1800 km. The satellite remained in orbit for 40 months and decayed on 4 April 1975. Orbital parameters have been determined at 85 epochs, using the RAE orbit refinement program, PROP, with 6635 radar and optical observations, including 197 from the Hewitt cameras. The average standard deviation in eccentricity and inclination corresponded to a positional accuracy of about 100 m. In addition, orbits of similar accuracy were determined daily for the last 15 days of the life, from 2000 NORAD observations. During its slow decay, the orbit passed through 14:1, 29:2 and 15:1 resonances with the Earth's gravitational field. The variations in inclination and eccentricity at these resonances have been analysed in detail to evaluate lumped geopotential harmonic coefficients of order 14, 29 and 15.