Changes in Rotational Angular Momentum due to Gravitational Interactions between Two Finite Bodies*

Interactions between an initially uniformly rotating body with a second degree and order gravity field and a sphere are analyzed. Explicit predictions of the change in rotational angular momentum of the non-spherical body are derived over one interaction (i.e. periapsis passage) between the bodies. The estimated changes are expressed in terms of trigonometric functions and generalized Hansen coefficients.