AAS 95-420

Runge-Kutta Integration Methods for Trajectory Propagation Revisited

G. J. Der, TRW , Redondo Beach, CA

Abstract

Runge-Kutta integration methods are simple to use, stable and self-starting. This paper revisits Runge-Kutta integration methods for near Earth ballistic trajectories influenced by atmospheric drag and acceleration due to gravitational harmonics. Accuracy and computer timing results are presented for several Runge-Kutta integration methods. For trajectory propagation, it is concluded that: (1) There is no atmospheric density model uniformly good at all altitudes. (2) There is no best classical Runge-Kutta integration method uniformly good for all applications. (3) A higher order classical Runge-Kutta integration method may be 10 times more computationally efficient than a lower order classical Runge-Kutta integration method.