Geosynchronous orbit determination using space surveillance network observations and improved radiative force modeling

This study is intended to improve orbit determination accuracy for 3-axis stabilized geo-synchronous satellites via an improved radiative force,model. The macro-model approach, developed earlier at NASA GSFC for the TDRSS spacecraft, has been adapted for the UNIX version of the Goddard Trajectory Determination System (GTDS) at the MIT Lincoln Laboratory. This paper describes software development and testing, including incorporation of a single-panel spacecraft model along with the full macro-model. The goal is to access these models from both the numerical and semi-analytical orbit generators with-in GTDS. Additionally, this paper describes a macro-model for the NASA Geosynchronous Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) spacecraft, and presents a plan to tune this model and improve GOES orbits using observations from the Space Surveillance Network.