Initial Orbit Determination Results for Jason-1: Towards a 1 cm Orbit

Bruce Haines, Willy Bertiger, Shailen Desai, Da Kuang, Tim Munson, Larry Young, and Pascal Willis

Peer Reviewed

Abstract:	The U.S./French Jason-1 oceanographic mission is carrying state-of-the-art radiometric tracking systems (GPS and DORIS) to support precise orbit determination (POD) requirements. The performance of the systems is strongly reflected in the early POD results. Results of both internal and external (e.g., satellite laser ranging) comparisons indicate that the root-mean-square (RMS) radial accuracy is in the range of 1 –2 cm. This paper reviews the POD strategy underlying these orbits, as well as the challenging issues that bear on the understanding and characterization of an orbit solution at the 1 cm level. It also describes a GPS-based system for producing science-quality orbits in near real time to support emerging applications in operational oceanography.
Published in:	NAVIGATION: Journal of the Institute of Navigation, Volume 50, Number 3
Pages:	171 - 180
Cite this article:	Haines, Bruce, Bertiger, Willy, Desai, Shailen, Kuang, Da, Munson, Tim, Young, Larry, Willis, Pascal, "Initial Orbit Determination Results for Jason-1: Towards a 1 cm Orbit", NAVIGATION: Journal of The Institute of Navigation, Vol. 50, No. 3, Fall 2003, pp. 171-180.
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