Deriving Atmospheric Density Estimates Using Satellite Precision Orbit Ephemerides
Issue Date
2009-01-01Author
Hiatt, Andrew Timothy
Publisher
University of Kansas
Format
pages
Type
Thesis
Degree Level
M.S.
Discipline
Aerospace Engineering
Rights
This item is protected by copyright and unless otherwise specified the copyright of this thesis/dissertation is held by the author.
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Current atmospheric models are incapable of properly modeling all of the density variations in the Earth’s upper atmosphere. Precision orbit ephemerides (POE) are utilized in an orbit determination process to generate improved atmospheric density estimates. Based on their correlation to accelerometer density, the POE density estimates were demonstrated to be an improvement over existing atmospheric models and somewhat better than the improved density estimates from the High Accuracy Satellite Drag Model regardless of solar and geomagnetic activity levels. The POE density estimates were obtained with the desired accuracy for a ±10% variation in the ballistic coefficient used to initialize the process. Fit span length showed little influence on the POE density estimate accuracy. POE density estimate overlap regions demonstrated a method of determining the consistency of the solutions. Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment POE density estimates showed consistent results with the Challenging Mini−Satellite Payload POE density estimates.
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- Engineering Dissertations and Theses [1055]
- Theses [3901]
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