Ballistic Propagation of the MAGR-Shuttle Navigation Solution

Roger R. Kirpes and Michael W. Burkle

Abstract:	A new mode of PVA (position, velocity, acceleration) solution propagation is required for MAGR-Shuttle (MAGR-S) in order to accurately reflect the orbital dynamic environment. The existing mode used during periods without velocity aiding assumes a constant acceleration vector over the entire one second solution update interval. This acceleration is derived from either receiver measurements processed in the Kalman filter, or from the assumption of a Great Circle trajectory if the lack of measurements prevents a fully determined solution. Although this is appropriate for a powered aircraft, a ballistic model of propagation is more applicable to the space shuttle orbiter. The total acceleration due to gravity, as well as Coriolis and centripetal effects, in the Earth Centered Earth Fixed (ECEF) coordinate frame is computed explicitly at a 10 Hz rate. Use of a second degree gravity model and rectangular integration achieves higher accuracy with minimal additional throughput. Analysis of MAGR-S ballistic propagation performance, using a high fidelity shuttle orbit simulation at NASA’s Johnson Space Center Avionics Engineering Laboratory (JAEL), showed position and velocity errors after 60 minutes to be well within the receiver’s capabilities for satellite reacquisition.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 52nd Annual Meeting of The Institute of Navigation (1996) June 19 - 21, 1996 Royal Sonesta Hotel Cambridge, MA
Pages:	813 - 820
Cite this article:	Kirpes, Roger R., Burkle, Michael W., "Ballistic Propagation of the MAGR-Shuttle Navigation Solution," Proceedings of the 52nd Annual Meeting of The Institute of Navigation (1996), Cambridge, MA, June 1996, pp. 813-820.
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