An analysis of very short-arc orbit determination for low-Earth objects using sparse optical and laser tracking data

The requirement to regularly track an increasing number of objects will result in straining existing tracking networks. This paper investigates the orbit prediction capability of an orbit determination process using very short-arc optical and laser debris tracking data for objects in low-Earth orbits. An analysis is carried out to determine the reduction in orbit prediction accuracy when tracking data over 5 s from each pass is only available for an orbit determination. The results show that the reduction in accuracy is not extensive and good orbit predictions are still possible when using only 5 s of data from the beginning of each pass. The results are achievable due to an accurate ballistic coefficient estimation and accurate tracking data. The dependence of the results on the perigee altitude of the objects is obvious, indicating modelling error of the atmospheric mass density in lower orbits remains the dominant source of error. (C) 2014 COSPAR. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.