Phase Change RPO Sequence

The Phase Change RPO sequence adjusts the chase satellite's orbit phasing by drifting it toward or away from the reference satellite. Before you use this sequence, assure that the chase and the reference (target) satellites have matching Keplerian orbital elements except for the mean or true anomaly.

During the phase change period, the drifting orbit maintains the same eccentricity and argument of perigee. This ensures the drifting phase orbit is either above or below the target satellite.

The following picture shows the phase change of a GEO satellite. It drifts from 15 degress east of the target satellite to 0.1 degrees east of the target satellite while also drifting in the minus velocity direction.

Watch the following video to learn more about the RPO sequence on this page.

Sequence parameters

Option	Description
Phase_Angle	Enter the desired final phase angle, in degrees, relative to the target satellite at the end of the phase change sequence.
Engine_Name	Enter, as a string, the name of the finite maneuver engine model.
Maneuver_Type	Select the type of maneuver, "Impulsive" or "Finite," from the drop-down list.
WhoAmI	Enter, as a string, the name of the current satellite.
ThisSequence	Enter the name of this sequence as a string. This is nominally Phase_Change, but if you insert the sequence multiple times in the MCS, Astrogator adds a monotonically increasing number to the end of the name (Phase_Change1, Phase_Change2, etc.).
Drift_Direction	Enter, as a string, the direction of the drift phase, either "Minus Velocity" or "Plus Velocity."
Drift_MaxRevs	Enter the maximum number of revs during the drift phase as an integer.