The paper presents simple methods for determining moderately eccentric orbits from the satellite; linear combinations of time-of-flight measurements are used exclusively. The method is based on a third-order expansion of the satellite law of motion in terms of orbital eccentricity epsilon. Thus, the approximation is very good for epsilon < or = 0.1. A simple technique, which is insensitive to systematic sensor errors, is proposed to circularize an orbit automatically. Another application is the automatic station-keeping of satellites, which has been realized for the first time, using the ideas of this paper, in the recently launched Lincoln Experimental Satellite LES-6. (Author)
Orbit Determination from the Satellite
1968
9 pages
Report
No indication
English
NTRS | 1979
|Orbit determination from the satellite.
AIAA | 1969
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