Kinematic Point Positioning of a LEO With Simultaneous Reduced-Dynamic Orbit Estimation

Oscar L. Colombo and Scott B. Luthcke

Abstract:	A technique for finding, with sub-decimeter precision, the trajectories of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) spacecraft with GPS receivers on board, has been developed at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). This technique has been tested, by computing a 24-hour orbit for the oceanographic satellite JASON-1. With three independent, precise tracking systems: GPS, DORIS, SLR, and at a height of 1300 km, this satellite currently has the best determined orbits of any LEO. The GPS data has been post-processed in precise point-positioning mode (with data from a receiver on board the satellite, and precise orbits and clock corrections from an external source). The clock of the receiver has been eliminated by single differencing between GPS satellites. The resulting trajectory agrees to better than 5 cm (3-D RMS) with “truth”: a very precise orbit calculated independently, using well-tested space-geodetic techniques implemented in the GEODYN software used at Goddard SFC.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 17th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GNSS 2004) September 21 - 24, 2004 Long Beach Convention Center Long Beach, CA
Pages:	2667 - 2675
Cite this article:	Colombo, Oscar L., Luthcke, Scott B., "Kinematic Point Positioning of a LEO With Simultaneous Reduced-Dynamic Orbit Estimation," Proceedings of the 17th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GNSS 2004), Long Beach, CA, September 2004, pp. 2667-2675.
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