AAS 98-189

MODELING CATASTROPHIC DECAY ORBITS THROUGH PERIGEE

J. D. Fischer - USAF, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; P. J. Cefola, R. J. Proulx - C. S. Draper Laboratory

Abstract

As highly eccentric orbits decay, their passage through perigee acts as a major perturbation due to highly dynamic atmospheric effects. In order to better model decay, the authors will do a brief analysis of the modeling errors for various atmospheric effects. Using data from an upper stage SL-6 Molniya rocket body, the errors identified in these analyses will be used to define a functional representation of the process noise. The results of incorporating this function into a Kalman Filter are presented.

Back