NAVIGATION OF NASA'S VAN ALLEN PROBES MISSION

摘要

The Van Allen Probes Mission, part of NASA's Living With a Star Program,successfully launched on August 30th, 2012 from the Cape Canaveral Atlas-VSpace Launch Complex 41. The two-year mission was designed, built, and operatedby the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. It consistsof two spin-stabilized spacecraft, in nearly identical highly-eccentric Earth orbits,which contain instruments to study ions, electrons, and the local magneticand electric fields of Earth's inner and outer radiation belts. The two spacecraftwere launched on a single Atlas V 401 launch vehicle, and placed in orbits thatcause one spacecraft to lap the other approximately four times per year. Thispaper describes the ground assets, navigation data, Orbit Determination (OD)software of the navigation process, the prelaunch analysis that characterizedexpected OD performance, and results of actual early OD performance. Detailsare also provided on spacecraft initial acquisition contingencies given combinationsof off-line ground stations and their effect on the launch go / no-go criteria.