Multiple solutions in preliminary orbit determination from three observations

Multi-Observations Initial Orbit Determination based on Angle-Only Measurements

A new approach with the ability to use the multiple observations based on the least square approach has been proposed for initial orbit determination. This approach considers the Earth’s Oblateness by using the developed Lagrange coefficients. The efficiency of the proposed method has been tested in two scenarios. The first scenario is to use the simulated and the second one is to utilize the r...

A Role for Improved Angular Observations in Geosynchronous Orbit Determination

New Approach to Multiple Data Association for Initial Orbit Determination Using Optical Observations

The proposed approach aims to develop a new method of forming and processing of multiple hypotheses for initial orbit determination using optical observations. This method allows us to generalize the existing 2-dimensional flat constrained admissible region (CAR) to a unique 3-dimensional (3D) manifold of points corresponding to the pairs of observed right ascension and declination. Another adv...

Chang’E-5T Orbit Determination Using Onboard GPS Observations

In recent years, Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) has played an important role in Space Service Volume, the region enclosing the altitudes above 3000 km up to 36,000 km. As an in-flight test for the feasibility as well as for the performance of GNSS-based satellite orbit determination (OD), the Chinese experimental lunar mission Chang'E-5T had been equipped with an onboard high-sensiti...

Correlation and Initial Orbit Determination for Short-Arc Optical Observations

Situational awareness of Earth-orbiting particles is highly important for future human activities in space. For optical observations of debris, multiple observations must be combined in order to determine the orbit of the observed object. It is generally uncertain, however, whether two arbitrary tracks are of the same object, and solving this problem can be computationally intensive. In this pa...