Citation
Abstract
The impact of using altimeter range measurements as an observation type for navigation of spacecraft about small bodies is evaluated. The altimeter range measurements can supplement or reduce the standard optical landmark and Deep Space Network (DSN) radio metric tracking. Navigation of spacecraft orbiting small bodies, such as asteroids, can be challenging since the a priori physical characteristics of the central body can have larger than normal uncertainties. The addition of the altimeter range data into the orbit-determination problem can be used to alleviate the increased uncertainty in the dynamics of the spacecraft due to uncertainties in the gravity model of the body. An advantage of the altimeter data is that the measurements can be taken continuously, without the sunlight restrictions of optical landmark tracking or the station visibility restrictions of DSN tracking. Simulations of various mission scenarios are used as test cases to quantify the usefulness of the altimeter range data as a navigation tool.
Keywords
Details
- Volume
- 42-141
- Published
- May 15, 2000
- Pages
- 1–14
- File Size
- 617.9 KB