Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-ndw9j Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T06:20:25.672Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Uncertainties in GPS-based operational orbit determination: A case study of the Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 satellites

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 February 2020

P. Kuchynka Open the ORCID record for P. Kuchynka [Opens in a new window] ,
M.A. Martin Serrano ,
K. Merz  and
J. Siminski
P. Kuchynka*
Affiliation:
GMV INSYEN, Flight Dynamics Division, European Space Operations Centre (ESOC), Darmstadt, Germany
M.A. Martin Serrano
Affiliation:
SCISYS, Flight Dynamics Division, European Space Operations Centre (ESOC), Darmstadt, Germany
K. Merz
Affiliation:
ESA, Space Debris Office, European Space Operations Centre (ESOC), Darmstadt, Germany
J. Siminski
Affiliation:
IMS, Space Debris Office, European Space Operations Centre (ESOC), Darmstadt, Germany
*
petr.kuchynka@esa.int
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The European Space Operations Centre currently operates five Copernicus Sentinel satellites in the framework of Europe’s Copernicus Earth observation programme. The routine operations rely on a daily orbit determination, carried out on-ground, consisting in a least-squares fit of a dynamical model to GPS navigation solutions generated on-board. The purpose of this paper is the estimation of realistic uncertainties on this daily determined state vector. By comparison with the orbit derived by Precise Orbit Determination, we estimate the 1-sigma errors at approximately 0.5m and 0.5mm/s. Non-stationary errors in the navigation solution preclude their characterisation with a constant covariance matrix. Error whitening is achieved by decreasing the signal-to-noise ratio in the errors through the use of underestimated weights on the data. The approach keeps the errors on the derived state vector unchanged and allows the covariance on the state vector to become realistic.

Keywords

CopernicusSentinelGPSOrbit DeterminationRealistic CovarianceSpace Debris
Type
Research Article
Information
The Aeronautical Journal , Volume 124 , Issue 1276 , June 2020 , pp. 888 - 901
Copyright
© Royal Aeronautical Society 2020

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

A version of this paper was first presented at the 18th Australian International Aerospace Congress in February 2019.

References

REFERENCES

Reillon, V. European Space Policy – Historical perspective, specific aspects and key challenges, European Parliamentary Research Service, January 2017, PE 595.917.Google Scholar
Nereus, European Space Agency and European Commission. The Ever Growing use of Copernicus across Europe’s Regions: a selection of 99 user stories by local and regional authorities, 2018.Google Scholar
Berger, M., Moreno, J., Johannessen, J.A., Levelt, P.F. and Hansen, R.F. ESA’s sentinel missions in support of Earth system science, Remote Sensing Environ, 2012, 120, pp 84–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Poore, A.B., Aristoff, J.M and Horwood, J.T.Covariance and uncertainty realism in space surveillance and tracking, Tech Rep, Numerica Corporation, 2016.Google Scholar
Kuchynka, P., Martin Serrano, M.A., Catania, M., Marc, X., Kuijper, D., Braun, V. and Krag, H. Sentinel-1A: flight dynamics analysis of the August 2016 collision event, 26th International Symposium on Space Flight Dynamics, June 2017, Matsuyuma.Google Scholar
Fernandez, J., Escobar, D., Heike, P. and Femenias, P. Copernicus POD service operations orbital accuracy of Sentinel-1A and Sentinel-2A, 25th International Symposium on Space Flight Dynamics, October 2015, Munich.Google Scholar
Langley, R.B.Dilution of precision, GPS WORLD, 1999, 10, pp 52–59.Google Scholar
Sanchez, J., Martin Serrano, M.A. and Mackenzie, R. Characterization of the solar radiation pressure perturbation in the eccentricity vector, 25th International Symposium on Space Flight Dynamics, October 2015, Munich.Google Scholar