MH 370 vs. geostationaryish satellite with 3 deg. orbital inclination

mh370_doppler.py

import math

def deg2rad(d):
    return d * math.pi / 180.0

# Convert spherical coordinates to cartesian.
def cart(c):
    return [c[0] * math.sin(c[1]) * math.cos(c[2]),
            c[0] * math.sin(c[1]) * math.sin(c[2]),
            c[0] * math.cos(c[1])]

# Distance between cartesian coordinates.
def dist(c1, c2):
    dx = abs(c1[0] - c2[0])
    dy = abs(c1[1] - c2[1])
    dz = abs(c1[2] - c2[2])
    return math.sqrt(dx * dx + dy * dy + dz * dz)

R_EARTH = 6378
R_GEO = R_EARTH + 35786

sat1 = [R_GEO, math.pi / 2.0, 0.0]
sat2 = [R_GEO, math.pi / 2.0 + deg2rad(3.0), 0.0]

# -40 latitude
plane = [R_EARTH, deg2rad(130.0), 0.0]

print dist(cart(sat1), cart(plane)) - dist(cart(sat2), cart(plane))

[jwiseman@John-Wisemans-MacBook-Pro mh370]$ python mh370_doppler.py
234.433290731