The goal of this project was to use real-time data from the U.S. Naval Academy's Prototype Communications Satellite (PC-Sat) to calculate atmospheric density in the satellite's orbit over various time intervals. This involved using the latitude, longitude, altitude, and time data from a GPS receiver on board PC-Sat and transforming them into the orbiter's classical orbital elements (COEs). From these, the change in the size of the orbit can be determined via the change in the semi-major axis. Changes to the orbit are due primarily to the non-spherical Earth and the atmosphere. Therefore, by accounting for the change in semi-major axis due to the non-spherical Earth, the researcher can conclude that the remaining change is due solely to atmospheric density. The ability to determine atmospheric density in a specific orbit by knowing only the position of the satellite and few characteristics of the satellite itself will allow many small satellites with GPS receivers to contribute to the collection of data about the upper atmosphere. Being able to measure the Earth's atmospheric density with increased accuracy will then allow satellite orbit and fuel usage predictions to be much more accurate and has the potential to lower the cost of missions. (6 tables, 25 figures, 17 refs.).
Determination of Atmospheric Density in Low-Earth Orbit Using GPS Data from the USNA Satellite
2003
75 pages
Report
Keine Angabe
Englisch
Aeronomy , Navigation Systems , Unmanned Spacecraft , Measurement , Earth orbits , Real time , Global positioning system , Communication satellites , Atmospheric density , Solar satellites , Mathematical models , Time intervals , Position(Location) , Kalman filtering , Accuracy , Radio receivers , Aerodynamic drag , Altitude , Upper atmosphere , Elliptical orbit trajectories , Prototype communications satellite , Herrick gibbs method , Pc-sat , Norad(North american aerospace defense command) , Norad data , Atmospheric drag , Aprs(Automatic position reporting system) , Classical orbital elements , Trident scholar project reports
The USNA MIDN Microdosimeter Instrument
AIAA | 2005
|USNA Ship Air Wake Program Overview (Invited)
AIAA | 2011
|Precision Low Earth Orbit Determination Using Atmospheric Density Calibration
Online Contents | 1998
|Precision Low Earth Orbit Determination Using Atmospheric Density Calibration
Springer Verlag | 1998
|Precision Low Earth Orbit Determination Using Atmospheric Density Calibration
British Library Conference Proceedings | 1998
|