AAS 98-211

ERROR COVARIANCE MATRIX PROPAGATION OVER VERY SHORT TIME SPANS

G. Der - TRW

Abstract

Error covariance matrix propagation has been treated extensively in the literature, few, if any, have compared the efficiency of analytic and numerical methods over very short time spans. Efficiency is concerned with computational accuracy and timing. By very short time spans we mean ten seconds or less, or, in some cases, as little as a few milliseconds. This paper uses the launch and impact point prediction problems of a short range (less than 20 km) ground launch rocket to illustrate the computational efficiency of state and error covariance matrix propagation.

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