To the dynamics of the two-body problem with variable masses in the presence of reactive forces

Abstract We studied the problem of two spherical celestial bodies in the general case when the masses of the bodies change non-isotropically at different rates in the presence of reactive forces. The problem was investigated by methods of perturbation theory based on aperiodic motion along a quasi-conic section, using the equation of perturbed motion in the form of Newton’s equations. The problem is described by the variables a, e, i, π, ω, λ, which are analogs of the corresponding Keplerian elements and the equations of motion in these variables are obtained. Averaging over the mean longitude, we obtained the evolution equations of the two-body problem with variable masses in the presence of reactive forces. The obtained evolution equations have the exact analytic integral ${a^3 e^4 = a^3_0 e^4_0} = {const}$ .