ORBIT DETERMINATION BASED ON VARIATION OF ORBITAL ERROR

摘要

A novel technique of angles-only initial initial orbit determination based on variations of orbital error is presented for the case of Keplerian orbit. The fact that the estimated orbit, both shape and orientation, should remain constant at every instant of time is the foundation of the new technique. The orbital elements are estimated for every measurement and the residuals of the orbit shape and orientation errors are minimized with respect to the unknown ranges. In this formulation, the spacecraft ranges (leading to position and velocity vectors) along with the orbital elements are estimated all together. This method is capable of using multiple observations which makes it suitable for coplanar orbit determination cases.