Robust Onboard Orbit Determination Through Error Kalman Filtering
Accurate and robust on-board orbit determination is essential for enabling autonomous spacecraft operations, particularly in scenarios where ground control is limited or unavailable. This paper presents a novel method for achieving robust on-board orbit determination by integrating a loosely coupled...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Aerospace |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2226-4310/12/1/45 |
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| author | Michele Ceresoli Andrea Colagrossi Stefano Silvestrini Michèle Lavagna |
| author_facet | Michele Ceresoli Andrea Colagrossi Stefano Silvestrini Michèle Lavagna |
| author_sort | Michele Ceresoli |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Accurate and robust on-board orbit determination is essential for enabling autonomous spacecraft operations, particularly in scenarios where ground control is limited or unavailable. This paper presents a novel method for achieving robust on-board orbit determination by integrating a loosely coupled GNSS/INS architecture with an on-board orbit propagator through error Kalman filtering. This method is designed to continuously estimate and propagate a spacecraft’s orbital state, leveraging real-time sensor measurements from a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receiver and an inertial navigation system (INS). The key advantage of the proposed approach lies in its ability to maintain orbit determination integrity even during GNSS signal outages or sensor failures. During such events, the on-board orbit propagator seamlessly continues to predict the spacecraft’s trajectory using the last known state information and the error estimates from the Kalman filter, which were adapted here to handle synthetic propagated measurements. The effectiveness and robustness of the method are demonstrated through comprehensive simulation studies under various operational scenarios, including simulated GNSS signal interruptions and sensor anomalies. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-29b9a96900de4c30ad85fe5326559408 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2226-4310 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Aerospace |
| spelling | doaj-art-29b9a96900de4c30ad85fe53265594082025-01-24T13:15:36ZengMDPI AGAerospace2226-43102025-01-011214510.3390/aerospace12010045Robust Onboard Orbit Determination Through Error Kalman FilteringMichele Ceresoli0Andrea Colagrossi1Stefano Silvestrini2Michèle Lavagna3Department of Aerospace Science and Technology, Politecnico di Milano, Via La Masa 34, 20156 Milan, ItalyDepartment of Aerospace Science and Technology, Politecnico di Milano, Via La Masa 34, 20156 Milan, ItalyDepartment of Aerospace Science and Technology, Politecnico di Milano, Via La Masa 34, 20156 Milan, ItalyDepartment of Aerospace Science and Technology, Politecnico di Milano, Via La Masa 34, 20156 Milan, ItalyAccurate and robust on-board orbit determination is essential for enabling autonomous spacecraft operations, particularly in scenarios where ground control is limited or unavailable. This paper presents a novel method for achieving robust on-board orbit determination by integrating a loosely coupled GNSS/INS architecture with an on-board orbit propagator through error Kalman filtering. This method is designed to continuously estimate and propagate a spacecraft’s orbital state, leveraging real-time sensor measurements from a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receiver and an inertial navigation system (INS). The key advantage of the proposed approach lies in its ability to maintain orbit determination integrity even during GNSS signal outages or sensor failures. During such events, the on-board orbit propagator seamlessly continues to predict the spacecraft’s trajectory using the last known state information and the error estimates from the Kalman filter, which were adapted here to handle synthetic propagated measurements. The effectiveness and robustness of the method are demonstrated through comprehensive simulation studies under various operational scenarios, including simulated GNSS signal interruptions and sensor anomalies.https://www.mdpi.com/2226-4310/12/1/45absolute orbit determinationerror Kalman filtermechanizationtwo-line elementson-board orbit propagation |
| spellingShingle | Michele Ceresoli Andrea Colagrossi Stefano Silvestrini Michèle Lavagna Robust Onboard Orbit Determination Through Error Kalman Filtering Aerospace absolute orbit determination error Kalman filter mechanization two-line elements on-board orbit propagation |
| title | Robust Onboard Orbit Determination Through Error Kalman Filtering |
| title_full | Robust Onboard Orbit Determination Through Error Kalman Filtering |
| title_fullStr | Robust Onboard Orbit Determination Through Error Kalman Filtering |
| title_full_unstemmed | Robust Onboard Orbit Determination Through Error Kalman Filtering |
| title_short | Robust Onboard Orbit Determination Through Error Kalman Filtering |
| title_sort | robust onboard orbit determination through error kalman filtering |
| topic | absolute orbit determination error Kalman filter mechanization two-line elements on-board orbit propagation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2226-4310/12/1/45 |
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