Comparison of numerical integration techniques for orbital applications
The present work gives a brief comparison of the performance of programs for integrating differential equations for orbital applications. The evaluation criteria and the method of testing are described, and the results of the test problem set are included. Integration methods that were chosen for comparison include high-order Runge-Kutta methods; a rational extrapolation method (Bulirsch and Stoer, 1966); a variable step, variable order, multistep method (Krogh, 1969); classical multistep methods of Adams and Cowell; and modified multistep methods. The high-order Runge-Kutta methods used in the comparison include RKF 7(8) and RKF 8(9) (Fehlberg, 1968), and RKS 8-10 (Shanks, 1966).