Another mechanism of restricting the lifetime of orbiting satellites

Apsidal resonance causes long periodic variation of large amplitude in the eccentricity of the minor bodies of the solar system (asteroids, natural satellites, artificial satellites of the planets and the moon). Especially for a large-inclination orbiting satellite the increased eccentricity may cause its pericentric distance to decrease below the radius of the primary. This effect, completely different from the dissipative effect of the earthʹs atmosphere, will be analysed theoretically and illustrated with numerical examples in this paper.