From: sylvia@email.invalid   
      
   On 23/11/2022 4:14 am, JF Mezei wrote:   
   > On 2022-11-22 04:48, Snidely wrote:   
   >   
   >> The web site for one of the asteroid probes discussed various orbital   
   >> mechanics issues, with a rather serious plane change   
   >   
   > But swapping high and low poits isn't a plane change is it (since the   
   > satellite still travels in same plane).   
   >   
   >   
   > If Orion has low point of 80 miles on far side of moon on day 1, and   
   > high point of 30,000 miles above moon towards earth, will that not   
   > remain the same arrangement as both orbit the earth over 28 days? or   
   > would the satellite get its high point on far side of moon and low point   
   > on earth facing side  14 days later ?   
      
   There may be some subtle orbital mechanic issue that I've overlook at   
   play here, but the Earth is a long way away compared with the size of   
   the orbit, and the fact that the Moon itself is turning shouldn't have   
   much effect. It's pulled out of a spherical shape by Earth's gravity and   
   its rotation speed rises and falls a bit, but I cannot see why they   
   combination of those should cause the space craft's orbit to rotate in   
   tandem. So it seems to me that the orbit should retain its orientation   
   relative to the "fixed" stars, and hence appear to rotate around the   
   moon as the moon orbits the Earth.   
      
   Sylvia   
      
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