On the Disintegration of Very Small Satellites

Abstract

Small Satellites will disintegrate, if they find a means, such as a separation force, to do so. If inside their Roche limit they are indeed subject to a separation force, that might be sufificient to bring about fragmentation. It is shown in the present paper that satellite disintegration leads to a reduction of orbital energy. The result can be looked upon as a generalization of the collinearity principle, according to which planetary systems strive towards a minimum energy state, for a given constant angular momentum.