AAS 97-676
NEW TECHNIQUES FOR ORBIT DETERMINATION OF GEOSYNCHRONOUS, GEOSYNCHRONOUS-TRANSFER, AND OTHER HIGH-ALTITUDE EARTH ORBITERS
S.M. Lichten, Sien-Chong Wu, L.E. Young, J.M. Srinivasan, B.J. Haines - NASA
Abstract
This paper explores two innovative approaches to high-altitude orbit determination. GPS-enhanced tracking (GET), which has been field-tested by JPL with two geosynchronous satellites, utilizes inexpensive ground terminals developed from commercial GPS receivers. The second approach involves tracking GPS directly onboard with a new microGPS receiver, also known as the Bit Grabber GPS Space Receiver (BGGSR), requiring < 0.1 watt power on average. First BGGSR launch is anticipated late summer 1997. A 1998 launch is planned for STRV-1C in geosynchronous-transfer orbit to track GPS over a wide altitude range. The paper discusses experimental setup and positioning results from ground and space data analysis for these new techniques.