Lagrange 1

Lagrange 1 (or L₁) is one of the secret locations of Celestial Being. Within the asteroid field of L₁, Celestial Being has a hidden resource satellite for maintenance and re-supply. L₁ was part of a large battle during Operation Fallen Angels. Though a large portion of the asteroid area (relevant to the battle was leveled by GNMA-XCVII Alvatore), the base still remains as one of the series of resource satellites for Celestial Being use.

Location of L₁

The L₁ point lies on the line defined by the two large masses M₁ and M₂, and between them. It is the most intuitively understood of the Lagrangian points: the one where the gravitational attraction of M₂ partially cancels M₁ gravitational attraction.

Example: An object which orbits the Sun more closely than the Earth would normally have a shorter orbital period than the Earth, but that ignores the effect of the Earth's own gravitational pull. If the object is directly between the Earth and the Sun, then the effect of the Earth's gravity is to weaken the force pulling the object towards the Sun, and therefore increase the orbital period of the object. The closer to Earth the object is, the greater this effect is. At the L₁ point, the orbital period of the object becomes exactly equal to the Earth's orbital period.

L₁ Highlights

The Sun–Earth L₁ is ideal for making observations of the Sun. Objects here are never shadowed by the Earth or the Moon. The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) is stationed in a Halo orbit at L₁, and the Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) is in a Lissajous orbit, also at the L₁ point. The Earth–Moon L₁ allows easy access to lunar and earth orbits with minimal change in velocity and would be ideal for a half-way manned space station intended to help transport cargo and personnel to the Moon and back.

External Links

• L₁ on Wikipedia