Queenique Dinh, University of Colorado Boulder; Daniel Scheeres, University of Colorado Boulder; Marcus Holzinger, University of Colorado Boulder
https://doi.org/10.64861/FOWU8018
Keywords: Cislunar, Initial Orbit Determination, Measurement Association, Space Situational Awareness, Admissible Region Theory
Abstract:
Advancing Initial Orbit Determination (IOD) techniques is critical to developing Space Situational Awareness capabilities in the multi-body dynamical environment of cislunar space. The chaotic, highly nonlinear behavior of multi-body dynamics, combined with the large observer-target distances that produce slow apparent relative motion, causes classical two-body IOD methods to fail. Our previous work introduced a cislunar measurement association and IOD framework based on admissible region theory and intersection analysis, enabling positive association of observations from Too-Short Arcs. This work extends our previous framework from the idealized Circular Restricted 3-Body Problem into a higher-fidelity modeling environment with ephemeris N-body dynamics and ground-based observers, incorporating realistic planetary ephemerides, observer motion, and visibility constraints. We demonstrate that the approach remains effective, laying the groundwork for its operational use with real electro-optical measurements. We validate the framework using simulated observations of two objects discovered by the PAN-STARRS1 telescope at Haleakalā Observatory in Maui, Hawaii: the Surveyor-2 Centaur rocket body (formerly designated 2020 SO) and the asteroid 469219 Kamoʻoalewa.
Date of Conference: September 15-18, 2026
Track: Cislunar SDA