Related papers: Autonomous Orbit Determination Using Epoch-Differe…
Spaceborne gravity gradients are proposed in this paper to provide autonomous orbit determination capabilities for near Earth satellites. The gravity gradients contain useful position information which can be extracted by matching the…
An innovative orbit determination method which makes use of gravity gradients for Low-Earth-Orbiting satellites is proposed. The measurement principle of gravity gradiometry is briefly reviewed and the sources of measurement error are…
In this Note, a new approach to spacecraft positioning based on GGT inversion is presented. The gravity gradient tensor is initially measured in the gradiometer reference frame (GRF) and then transformed to the Earth-Centered Earth-Fixed…
Orbit determination of spacecraft in orbit has been mostly dependent on either GNSS satellite signals or ground station telemetry. Both methods present their limitations, however: GNSS signals can only be used effectively in earth orbit,…
This paper presents an integrated model-learning predictive control scheme for spacecraft orbit-attitude station-keeping in the vicinity of asteroids. The orbiting probe relies on optical and laser navigation while attitude measurements are…
We propose a method to account for the Earth oblateness effect in preliminary orbit determination of satellites in low orbits with radar observations. This method is an improvement of the one described in (Gronchi et al 2015), which uses a…
CubeSats have become a meaningful option for deep-space exploration, but their autonomy must be increased to maximize the science return while limiting the complexity in operations. We present here a solution for an autonomous orbit…
We present a systematic analysis of automatic differentiation (AD) applications in astrophysics, identifying domains where gradient-based optimization could provide significant computational advantages. Building on our previous work with…
We present methodology and mission results from orbit determination of Planet Labs nanosatellites and differential-drag control of their relative motion. Orbit determination (OD) is required on Planet Labs satellites to accurately predict…
Adaptive mesh refinement efficiently facilitates the computation of gravitational waveforms in numerical relativity. However, determining precisely when, where, and to what extent to refine when solving the Einstein equations poses…
The surge of deep-space probes makes it unsustainable to navigate them with standard radiometric tracking. Self-driving interplanetary satellites represent a solution to this problem. In this work, a full vision-based navigation algorithm…
This paper proposes a position fixing method for autonomous navigation using partial gravity gradient solutions from cold atom interferometers. Cold atom quantum sensors can provide ultra-precise measurements of inertial quantities, such as…
Future missions like Roman, HabEx, and LUVOIR will directly image exoplanets in reflected light. While current near infrared direct imaging searches are only sensitive to young, self-luminous planets whose brightness is independent of their…
Given a set of astrometric observations of the same object, the problem of orbit determination is to compute the orbit and to assess its uncertainty and reliability. For the next generation surveys, with much larger number density of…
While building up a catalog of Earth orbiting objects, if the available optical observations are sparse, not deliberate follow ups of specific objects, no orbit determination is possible without previous correlation of observations obtained…
This paper presents an algorithm for the preprocessing of observation data aimed at improving the robustness of orbit determination tools. Two objectives are fulfilled: obtain a refined solution to the initial orbit determination problem…
Accurate determination of fireball direction is essential for retrieving trajectories and velocities. Errors in these measurements have significant implications, affecting the calculated pre-impact orbit, influencing mass estimates, and…
Given the critical roles that satellites play in national defense, public safety, and worldwide communications, finding ways to determine satellite trajectories is a crucially important task for improved space situational awareness.…
Fast and precise propagation of satellite orbits is required for mission design, orbit determination in support of operations and payload data analysis. This demand must also comply with the different accuracy requirements set by a growing…
Understanding how star formation is regulated requires studying the energy balance between turbulence, magnetic fields, stellar feedback, and gravity within molecular clouds. However, identifying the transition region where the gravity…