Validation of an Autonomous Multi-Satellite Navigation Filter Against Precision Orbit Ephemerides

Jennifer King, Matthew Ruschmann, George Davis

Abstract:	To prepare for various upcoming flight demonstrations of autonomous multi-satellite systems technology, Emergent Space Technologies performed a validation of its multi-satellite navigation filter, NAV, using real GPS data and precise post-processed orbits. NAV estimated positions and velocities were compared to precise orbit ephemerides (POEs) from NASA missions Ice, Cloud, Land, and Elevation Satellite (ICESat) and Gravitational Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE). This paper summarizes the methods used to validate NAV’s extended Kalman Filter (EKF) using real GPS data and high precision POEs to improve filter performance. Using this validation method, absolute NAV position errors are determined to have an RMS of less than 10 meters (1sigma) and velocity errors to less than 2.0 cm/s (1sigma) for the analyzed data sets.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 33rd International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GNSS+ 2020) September 21 - 25, 2020
Pages:	1372 - 1382
Cite this article:	King, Jennifer, Ruschmann, Matthew, Davis, George, "Validation of an Autonomous Multi-Satellite Navigation Filter Against Precision Orbit Ephemerides," Proceedings of the 33rd International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GNSS+ 2020), September 2020, pp. 1372-1382. https://doi.org/10.33012/2020.17648
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