EXPRESS Landing in Ghana - Orbit Analysis

Kurzfassung

In contradiction to the estimated landing point in the South Pacific before the 3rd Santiago pass, EXPRESS landed in Ghana at a longitude of -1.24 and a latitude of 10.01. With this real landing point, a new orbit analysis could be performed. The ballistic factor had to be asumed to be different during the three perigee phases to fit the initial orbital elements, the Santiago observation and the landing point in Ghana as precise as possible. Compared with the nominal landing, the decleration peak is of the same size, on the other hand the duration of the heating up is different, as the spacecraft had longer flight in the dense lower atmosphere.