Osculating Keplerian Elements for Highly Non- Keplerian Orbits

There may be differences between this version and the published version. You are advised to consult the publisher's version if you wish to cite from it. This paper presents a mapping between the elements of highly non-Keplerian orbits and classical orbital elements. Three sets of elements are discussed and mappings are derived in closed, analytical form for both the direct and inverse problem. Advantages and drawbacks of the use of each set of elements are discussed. The spacecraft thrust-induced acceleration used to generate families of highly non-Keplerian orbits is extracted from the inverse mapping from the os-culating orbital elements. The key signatures of highly non-Keplerian orbits in Keplerian elements tracking data are determined through a set of representative test cases.