Research on thermospheric densities derived from two-line element sets

Two-line Orbital Element Sets (TLEs) consist of mean orbital elements at epoch, along with the NORAD (North American Aerospace Defence Command) catalog number, international designator, epoch and additional fitting parameters. These information can be used to derive thermospheric densities through integration of differential equation for mean motion. For near-circular orbit satellites, derived thermospheric density can be seen as real density because of their stable orbit height, while for elliptical orbit satellites, thermospheric density at perigee and apogee can be different as much as several orders.