Universal variable formulation

<p>In <a href="/facts/Orbital_mechanics/oB3tqNG9">orbital mechanics</a>, the universal variable formulation is a method used to solve the <a href="/facts/Two-body_problem/YCG4geSH">two-body</a> <a href="/facts/Kepler_problem/oxyp49JD">Kepler problem</a>. It is a generalized form of <a href="/facts/Kepler%2527s_Equation/pww75aK5">Kepler's Equation</a>, extending it to apply not only to <a href="/facts/Elliptic_orbits/SfuXuATN">elliptic orbits</a>, but also <a href="/facts/Parabolic_orbit/vDNtF83E">parabolic</a> and <a href="/facts/Hyperbolic_orbit/4wEAXaez">hyperbolic orbits</a> common for spacecraft departing from a planetary orbit. It is also applicable to ejection of small bodies in <a href="/facts/Solar_System/QIcLSazQ">Solar System</a> from the vicinity of massive planets, during which processes the approximating two-body orbits can have widely varying <a href="/facts/Orbital_eccentricity/WGlB4NBn">eccentricities</a>, almost always   <a href="/facts/Orbital_eccentricity/WGlB4NBn"><i>e</i></a> ≥ 1  .
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Universal variable formulation open-in-new

Universal variable formulation