Date of Award

12-14-2012

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Department

Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics

First Advisor

Jonathan T. Black, PhD.

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to characterize the performance of the optimal sequential filter used in ODTK with a maneuvering satellite. Specifically, this thesis sought to characterize the performance using two scenarios: performance with a maneuver in between passes and performance with a limited number of measurements. The performance of the filter is evaluated by analyzing the covariance values generated during the orbit estimation process. Larger covariance values signify reduced performance of the filter. Several variables for the maneuvering satellite are used, including the maneuver direction and the maneuver magnitude. The time of the maneuver is also varied, which creates a short or long drift time in between passes. With sufficient data after a maneuver (about three passes) the ODTK filter is able to provide a good orbit estimate for the satellite. However, without at least three passes to gather new observations, the filter does not perform well.

AFIT Designator

AFIT-ENY-12-D-01DL

DTIC Accession Number

ADA574302

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