The aspects of accurate determination of Earth satellite orbits by the Minimum Variance Method are presented. In addition, techniques for the determination of the associated physical constants, such as the coefficients in the Earth's gravitational potential, exospheric temperature, etc., are developed. A method for determination of the state transition matrix is presented. Also included are a review of the time systems employed in satellite orbit determination and a short discussion of the types of observations .nThe mathematical model of the dynamical system includes nine zonal harmonics and up to the fourth order tesseral harmonics of the Earth's gravitational potential. Atmospheric drag effects are included on the assumption that the atmosphere rotates with the angular velocity of the Earth. First order solar and lunar gravitational attractions and solar radiation pressure are also treated. The satellite orbits are integrated in a reference system which considers the precession and notation of the Earth. Rectangular co-ordinate systems are used throughout the development.
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