The dynamics of a tethered satellite are greatly affected by the perturbing force transmitted to the satellite through the tether. The existence of this tether force causes the satellite to behave in a non-Keplerian manner. when a tethered satellite is first detected and tracked, its modified Keplerian motion makes it difficult to identify the satellite as being tethered without prior knowledge that it is so. Classical orbit determination methods are unable to account for this modified Keplerian motion and the subsequent estimation procedure will commonly result in an inaccurate prediction of the satellite's trajectory. The predicted trajectory in such cases could appear to be balistic in nature, thereby causing great concern for individuals and organizations who are responsible for monitoring these types of scenarios. In such scenarios, the speed at which an accurate identification of the satellite can be made may also be very important.
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