A set of novel orbital elements modeling approach using quaternion

Focused on the singular, indetermination and the calculation inefficiency of traditional orbital elements based on Euler angles, a set of novel orbital elements using quaternion was proposed. The relationships of the novel elements and the classic orbital elements, as well as the novel elements and the position and velocity in the inertial coordinate were built. The Gauss perturbation equations were derived based on the novel elements. The validity and advantages were validated by the propagation of the orbit under J2 perturbation. The results show that the novel elements can not only avoid the singular and indetermination in circular and equatorial orbit, but also with higher calculation efficiency and accuracy for its operation without trigonometric function.