Abstract: Deorbiting of an earth-orbiting satellite is accomplished by executing an orbit transfer maneuver, the orbit transfer maneuver resulting in transference of the satellite from an operational orbit to a disposal orbit, where the disposal orbit is substantially circular and has a nominal radius of approximately, 31,000 kilometers. The operational orbit may be substantially geosynchronous and have at least one of (i) an inclination of greater than 10 degrees and (ii) a nominal eccentricity greater than 0.1. Alternatively, the operational orbit may be a medium earth orbit.

Abstract: A method of controlling the orbit of an inclined, eccentric geosynchronous satellite by maintaining its perigee location while simultaneously preventing a reference point on the orbit from moving too far relative to a normal position over the Earth. Doing this changes the semimajor axis of the orbit, which when perturbed away from the geosynchronous value, creates a drift rate relative to the Earth. To correct the argument of perigee and maintain the prescribed tolerance on ground track position, multiple maneuvers must be performed to control the drift rate. The relationship between maximum allowable velocity change and time between maneuvers is defined by the required correction to the argument of perigee and the allowable motion of the reference point.