Shooting Scheme for Perturbations in Optimised Solution of the Orbital Boundary Value Problem

Area of Science:

• Space Surveillance and Monitoring
• Orbital Mechanics
• Astrodynamics

Background:

• Increasing space debris poses a significant threat to space activities.
• Accurate tracking and orbit computation of space objects are vital for civil and military applications.
• Current methods for orbit determination from sparse, short observational arcs have limitations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a novel algorithm for space object orbit computation.
• To incorporate orbital perturbations into the orbit determination process.
• To assess the accuracy of the proposed method under varying perturbation levels.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing a shooting model approach to integrate orbital perturbations.
• Applying the improved algorithm to simulated observations of geostationary objects.
• Analyzing performance based on accuracy with different perturbation intensities.

Main Results:

• The novel approach successfully computes orbits considering perturbations like solar radiation pressure.
• The method demonstrates improved accuracy for objects in the geostationary region.
• Performance evaluation shows effectiveness across different levels of perturbation.

Conclusions:

• The proposed shooting model with perturbations enhances space object orbit computation accuracy.
• This method offers a more robust solution for tracking objects with limited observational data.
• Improved surveillance capabilities are crucial for managing the near-Earth space environment.