| A new system for autonomous satellite navigation is developed and investigated. Unlike many previous studies, however, this system is not limited to the determination of an Earth satellite's current position. By using a two-step technique combined with a general perturbations model, this method allows the air-drag effect on the orbit to be estimated and applied to a future position prediction. Simulations using existing hardware have demonstrated that the algorithm presented is capable of current position estimates of sub-kilometer accuracy. Prediction precisions rival those of ground-based facilities: 8-12 kilometers two weeks in the future for low-Earth orbits. |
