The naval space command automatic differential correction process

摘要

The Naval Space Command maintains a database of orbital elements for the objects in the space catalog. This report is a documentation of the software which inputs new observations of a satellite and its old element set and outputs a new element set. Topics covered include: mathematics of batch least squares differential correction process, definition of fit span and passes, calculation of residuals and partials, inclusion of historical data, solution to normal equations, iterations and tolerances.