Improvement of orbit determination using laser altimeter crossovers

JUICE mission case study

Journal article (2021)

Authors

S. Villamil German Aerospace Center
D. Dirkx Astrodynamics & Space Missions - Aerospace Engineering
A. Stark German Aerospace Center
H. Hussmann German Aerospace Center
Research Group
Astrodynamics & Space Missions (Aerospace Engineering) (TU Delft)
Orbit determination JUICE mission Laser altimetry Altimetry crossovers
More Info
expand_more

Published Date

2021

Language

English

Reuse Rights

Other than for strictly personal use, it is not permitted to download, forward or distribute the text or part of it, without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), unless the work is under an open content license such as Creative Commons.

Faculty

Aerospace Engineering

Department

Space Engineering

Research Group

Astrodynamics & Space Missions

Abstract

This work evaluates the added benefit of using laser altimeter measurements for orbit reconstruction. As a spacecraft orbits a celestial body, its altimetry swaths progressively cross previous swaths. These locations, known as crossover points, yield valuable information about the orbited body and the spacecraft trajectory. The mathematical expressions for the inclusion of crossover measurements into orbit determination algorithms are presented and evaluated. It is shown that a first-order approximation of these expressions is insufficient and a more detailed expression is developed. To evaluate the impact of altimetry crossover measurements on orbit determination, the planetary mission Jupiter Icy moons Explorer (JUICE) by the European Space Agency (ESA) is used as a case study by means of a covariance analysis. In this initial analysis, the assumption is made that all altimetry measurements are obtained with nadir pointing which limits the direct applicability of our method until pointing is accounted for.