Empirical orbit determination using Apollo 14 data

Abstract

An empirical orbit determination method is shown to yield highly accurate navigation results when applied to lunar orbit tracking data. Regressions and predictions of free flight Apollo 14 tracking data exhibit minimal residual growth, and the solution orbital elements behave in a very consistent manner. Solutions from data acquired during propulsive maneuvers result in degraded predictions. The residual patterns from free flight processing are shown to be consistent from pass to pass and are correlated with lunar topographic features.