Joshua T. Horwood (Numerica Corporation), Aubrey B. Poore (Numerica Corporation), Kyle T. Alfriend (Department of Aerospace Engineering, Texas A&M University)
Keywords: Astrodynamics
Abstract:
This paper proposes a simple yet reliable method for performing orbit determination or track initiation in the geosynchronous (GEO) regime of space using angle-only sensor observations. The main discovery communicated in this paper is a new online metric which allows the operator to assess in realtime if there is adequate observational data to solve the orbit determination problem and hence initiate a robust track state estimate and consistent covariance.
Date of Conference: September 13-16, 2011
Track: Astrodynamics