On the dynamics of a spacecraft in the photogrvitational field of the Sun

The idea that the light pressure should influence the motion of illuminated particles has been known since J. Kepler (1571-1630), then, this idea explained the fact that the comet’s tails were oriented in an opposite direction to the direction of the Sun. In the early twenties, P.N.Lebedev (1866-1921), E.F.Nichols (1869-1924) and A.W.Hull (1880-1966) found that the pressure of the light on a reflecting surface of 1 km^2 was about 8.10^-6 N/m^2, [3]. This pressure affects the orbital behaviour of artificial and natural celestial bodies with a relatively large area-to-mass ratio.