The Mechanical
Engineering Handbook




Orbital Inclination Calculator














How This Is Calculated



$$ i = arccos \left( \frac{h_z}{h} \right) $$ where:

i   =   Orbital inclination   (rad)

hz   =   z-component of specific angular momentum   (m²/s)

h   =   Magnitude of angular momentum   (m²/s)


Assumptions



  • The system is treated as a two-body problem.
  • Central body is spherically symmetric.
  • Orbit follows Kepler's laws of motion.

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