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NASA NTRS2004

Mars Exploration Rovers navigation results

The twin Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, were launched on June 10, 2003(dagger), and July 8, 2003, from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Spirit and Opportunity were targeted for landings at Gusev Crater (arrival on January 4, 2004) and Meridiani Planum (arrival on January 25, 2004). The primary navigation challenge was to deliver each spacecraft to the desired atmospheric entry interface point with sufficient accuracy such that each lander would touch down within a specified landing ellipse (about 70 km x 5 km) determined to be safe for landing and also judged to be scientifically interesting. In order to achieve landing within the target ellipse, precise control of the inertial entry flight path angle (FPA) at atmospheric entry was required. The maximum allowable errors in FPA following TCM-5 (trajectory correction maneuver #5) at Entry (E) - 2 days were +/-0.12(deg) (3(sigma)) for Spirit and +/-0.14(deg) (3(sigma)) for Opportunity. Achieving these entry delivery accuracies necessitated significant improvements to the interplanetary avigation system used for MER. These improvements included new processes and software for orbit determination, propulsive maneuver design, and entry, descent, and landing (EDL) trajectory simulation. The actual achieved atmospheric entry accuracies for Spirit and Opportunity significantly exceeded the requirements. At the navigation data cutoff for the TCM-5 final design, the orbit determination FPA knowledge error was +/-0.028(deg) (3(sigma) ) for Spirit and +/-0.035(deg) (3(sigma)) for Opportunity. Because of exceptionally accurate navigation performance, TCM-5 (E - 2 days) and TCM-6 (E - 4 hours) were canceled for both Spirit and Opportunity. The actual landing locations (determined from in-situ Doppler tracking between the MER rovers and the Mars Odyssey orbiter) differed from the target landing points by 10.1 km (downtrack) for Spirit and 24.6 km (downtrack) for Opportunity. The majority of the landing position offsets for both landers was primarily caused by variations in atmosphere and spacecraft aerodynamic modeling from what was predicted. The amount of the landing position offset caused by navigation-only errors was only 3.3 km (uptrack) for Spirit and 9.7 km (downtrack) for Opportunity.

Mars Exploration Rover (MER)↗
NASA NTRS2004

Mars Exploration Rovers navigation results

The twin Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, were launched on June 10, 2003, and July 8, 2003, from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Spirit and Opportunity were targeted for landings at Gusev Crater (arrival on January 4, 2004) and Meridiani Planum (arrival on January 25, 2004). The primary navigation challenge was to deliver each spacecraft to the desired atmospheric entry interface point with sufficient accuracy such that each lander would touch down within a specified landing ellipse (about 70 km x 5 km) determined to be safe for landing and also judged to be scientifically interesting. In order to achieve landing within the target ellipse, precise control of the inertial entry flight path angle (FPA) at atmospheric entry was required. The maximum allowable errors in FPA following TCM-5 (trajectory correction maneuver #5) at Entry (E) -2 days were +/-0.12 deg(3 sigma) for Spirit and +/-0.14 deg(3 sigma) for Opportunity. Achieving these entry delivery accuracies necessitated significant improvements to the interplanetary navigation system used for MER. These improvements included new processes and software for orbit determination, propulsive maneuver design, and entry, descent, and landing (EDL) trajectory simulation. The actual achieved atmospheric entry accuracies for Spirit and Opportunity significantly exceeded the requirements. At the navigation data cutoff for the TCM-5 final design, the orbit determination FPA knowledge error was 0.028 deg(3 sigma) for Spirit and 0.035 deg(3 sigma) for Opportunity. Because of exceptionally accurate navigation performance, TCM-5 (E - 2 days) and TCM-6 (E - 4 hours) were canceled for both Spirit and Opportunity. The actual landing locations (determined from in-situ Doppler tracking between the MER rovers and the Mars Odyssey orbiter) differed from the target landing points by 10.1 km (downtrack) for Spirit and 24.6 km (downtrack) for Opportunity. The majority of the landing position offsets for both landers was primarily caused by variations in atmosphere and spacecraft aerodynamic modeling from what was predicted. The amount of the landing position offset caused by navigation-only errors was only 3.3 km (uptrack) for Spirit and 9.7 km (downtrack) for Opportunity.

Mars Exploration Rover (MER)↗
NASA NTRS1994

TDRSS Onboard Navigation System (TONS) flight qualification experiment

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) is currently developing an operational Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) System (TDRSS) Onboard Navigation System (TONS) to provide realtime, autonomous, high-accuracy navigation products to users of TDRSS. A TONS experiment was implemented on the Explorer Platform/Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer (EP/EUVE) spacecraft, launched June 7, 1992, to flight qualify the TONS operational system using TDRSS forward-link communications services. This paper provides a detailed evaluation of the flight hardware, an ultrastable oscillator (USO) and Doppler extractor (DE) card in one of the TDRSS user transponders and the ground-based prototype flight software performance, based on the 1 year of TONS experiment operation. The TONS experiment results are used to project the expected performance of the TONS 1 operational system. TONS 1 processes Doppler data derived from scheduled forward-link S-band services using a sequential estimation algorithm enhanced by a sophisticated process noise model to provide onboard orbit and frequency determination and time maintenance. TONS 1 will be the prime navigation system on the Earth Observing System (EOS)-AM1 spacecraft, currently scheduled for launch in 1998. Inflight evaluation of the USO and DE short-term and long-term stability indicates that the performance is excellent. Analysis of the TONS prototype flight software performance indicates that realtime onboard position accuracies of better than 25 meters root-mean-square are achievable with one tracking contact every one to two orbits for the EP/EUVE 525-kilometer altitude, 28.5 degree inclination orbit. The success of the TONS experiment demonstrates the flight readiness of TONS to support the EOS-AM1 mission.

Gramling, C. J.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Radio interferometric measurements for accurate planetary orbiter navigation

The use of narrowband delta-VLBI to achieve accurate orbit determination is presented by viewing a spacecraft from widely separated stations followed by viewing a nearby quasar from the same stations. Current analysis is examined that establishes the orbit determination accuracy achieved with data arcs spanning up to 3.5 d. Strategies for improving prediction accuracy are given, and the performance of delta-VLBI is compared with conventional radiometric tracking data. It is found that accuracy 'within the fit' is on the order of 0.5 km for data arcs having delta-VLBI on the ends of the arcs and for arc lengths varying from one baseline to 3.5 d. The technique is discussed with reference to the proposed Venus Orbiting Imaging Radar mission.

Poole, S. R.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Tracking and orbit determination strategies for the AMPTE mission set

The three-spacecraft AMPTE mission set to be Delta-launched in August 1984 will become the first highly-elliptical Earth orbiters to be supported by the Deep Space Network. Orbit accuracies for the transponder-equipped CCE and IRM spacecraft are defined using coherent doppler and range, non-coherent doppler, and angles. Required navigation accuracies for both spacecraft are met using coherent doppler, and while the use of range enhances the achievable accuracy, it is not a required radio metric data type. Use of non-coherent doppler and angles shows that the IRM navigation accuracy requirements can also be met using listen-only antennas, although this requires an accurate estimate of the doppler bias.

Frauenholz, R. B.↗
NASA NTRS1979

The JPL orbit determination software system

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) orbit determination software system is described. Consisting of a set of computer programs, this system has been developed at JPL for the primary purpose of determining the flight path of deep-space mission spacecraft in NASA's planetary program. Secondary uses include science studies in celestial mechanics and extraterrestrial atmospherics. Attention is given to such features as the capability for processing 30 data types from up to 15 tracking stations, and for precise navigation to natural satellites of outer planets. In addition, the system contains models for such conditions as mascons, atmospheric drag, attitude control, and finite motor burns, to provide for extensive solve-on capabilities.

Ekelund, J. E.↗
NASA NTRS2008

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Navigation During the Primary Science Phase

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter began science operations in November 2006, with a suite of seven instruments and investigations, some of which required navigation accuracies much better than previous Mars missions. This paper describes the driving performance requirements levied on Navigation and how well those requirements have been met thus far. Trending analyses that have a direct impact on the Navigation performance, such as atmospheric bias determination, are covered in detail, as well as dynamic models, estimation strategy, tracking data reduction techniques, and residual noise.

MRO↗
NASA NTRS1973

Introduction

A description is given of the navigation of Mariner 9, which included not only precision flight path control but also pointing of the scientific instruments mounted on a two-degree of freedom scan platform. Flight path control involved the determination of the spacecraft trajectory and the design and execution of the propulsive maneuvers required to effect the necessary changes in the trajectory. Radiometric tracking data provided by the Deep Space Network (DSN) were the principal data type used in the orbit determination process. During the Mars approach phase, optical tracking data were also used, but only on an experimental basis.

Oneil, W. J.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Performance Simulation of Autonomous Solar Navigation

The performance of a new type of autonomous solar navigation system is analyzed in this paper. Such efficient autonomous navigation systems will reduce operation costs and alleviate the Deep Space Network workload in future space missions. The method is demonstrated by applying it to the STEREO mission. Orbit determination is simulated through the use of the mission-defined trajectory profile and solar angular data acquired by the on-board science instruments currently being considered. The study shows that the orbit solution derived by this new type of solar navigation system can satisfy the mission's navigation requirements; the position uncertainties obtained in the simulations are well below the mission allowable values, and are comparable to the results obtained with the conventional Doppler tracking system in some cases.

Guo, Yanping↗
NASA NTRS1976

Navigation between the planets

Recent advances in spacecraft tracking, chronometry, ephemerides, and orbit and trajectory determinations are reviewed. Improvements in timekeeping are reviewed, as well as precision distance and range measurements; orbit determinations, trajectory-correction maneuvers, flight path optimization, and information provided by rotation of the tracking station with the earth's surface. Doppler and tropospheric wave propagation effects are dealt with. Nongravitational perturbations (solar radiation pressure, release of gases from the spacecraft, stochastic unmodeled accelerations and sequential estimation to cope with them), the effect of the target planet's gravitational field upon close approach, and navigation problems in the outer reaches of the solar system (TV data telemetered back for inertial navigation) are covered. By-products of the research include: refined data on the mass of planets, on planetary mass distributions, planet configurations, on physical properties of the atmospheres and ionospheres of planets, and opportunities for refined tests of gravitation and relativity theories and models.

Melbourne, W. G.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Deep Space navigation for the BioSentinel spacecraft science orbit

BioSentinel is an astrobiology small spacecraft mission. The payload consists of two parts, the first has optical and microfluidics sensors, and the second is a Linear Energy Transfer spectrometer that has the objective to measure deep space radiation from events such as coronal mass ejections. The goal of the mission is to observe potential DNA damage due to the radiation in heliocentric space on the living organism Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which is a budding yeast. Two types of this living organism are included in the payload. The first is a natural type that is more radiation tolerant, while the second is a mutant strain that has a deficiency in a gene that allows DNA repair once damage occurs. The impact caused by the radiation on the DNA is compared to an identical sample aboard the International Space Station, as well as another identical sample at a laboratory on the ground. The BioSentinel mission consists of a 6U CubeSat currently ,as of January 2024, active in heliocentric orbit. The spacecraft was launched aboard the first SLS flight as part of the Artemis-I campaign in November 2022. After successful deployment from the launch vehicle, it performed a lunar flyby with an altitude of 406 km. The delta-V imparted by the flyby provided the necessary energy to achieve a heliocentric orbit, in an Earth-trailing pattern. The navigation analysis consisted of a Kalman-filter that utilized data from the Deep Space Network and the ESA Estrack network. All those antennas were needed since the Artemis-1 campaign included the deployment of several other cubesats, therefore the scheduling process required more antenna assets than usual due to simultaneous demands from various missions. The processed tracking data was later also refined with a smoother in order to obtain a more accurate solution. The type of tracking data included TCP, Sequential Range, Doppler and Range formats. The solar radiation pressure coefficient, as well as the delta-V from the deployment and the flyby were modeled to obtain suitable solutions that could decrease the position and velocity uncertainties at several steps along the mission concept of operations. The final product each time resulted in updated ephemeris files that were used by the mission and the antenna networks as the mission progressed. Once in the final science orbit, the utilized antennas are only from the DSN network and the data format is bounded to just TCP. Regular orbit determination is performed, every two weeks. The spacecraft is in a nominal well-known orbit, performing regular operations. This paper includes an analysis of the final science orbit, the techniques and procedures utilized to perform orbit determination and a description of the overall navigation campaign produced during the mission and, more specifically, during the final science operations in Deep Space.

BioSentinel↗
NASA NTRS2007

Orbit Determination and Navigation of the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO)

This paper provides an overview of the required upgrades necessary for navigation of NASA's twin heliocentric science missions, Solar TErestrial RElations Observatory (STEREO) Ahead and Behind. The orbit determination of the STEREO spacecraft was provided by the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center's (GSFC) Flight Dynamics Facility (FDF) in support of the mission operations activities performed by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL). The changes to FDF s orbit determination software included modeling upgrades as well as modifications required to process the Deep Space Network X-band tracking data used for STEREO. Orbit results as well as comparisons to independently computed solutions are also included. The successful orbit determination support aided in maneuvering the STEREO spacecraft, launched on October 26, 2006 (00:52 Z), to target the lunar gravity assists required to place the spacecraft into their final heliocentric drift-away orbits where they are providing stereo imaging of the Sun.

Mesarch, Michael↗
NASA NTRS2007

Orbit Determination and Navigation of the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO)

This paper provides an overview of the required upgrades necessary for navigation of NASA's twin heliocentric science missions, Solar TErestrial RElations Observatory (STEREO) Ahead and Behind. The orbit determination of the STEREO spacecraft was provided by the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center's (GSFC) Flight Dynamics Facility (FDF) in support of the mission operations activities performed by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL). The changes to FDF's orbit determination software included modeling upgrades as well as modifications required to process the Deep Space Network X-band tracking data used for STEREO. Orbit results as well as comparisons to independently computed solutions are also included. The successful orbit determination support aided in maneuvering the STEREO spacecraft, launched on October 26, 2006 (00:52 Z), to target the lunar gravity assists required to place the spacecraft into their final heliocentric drift-away orbits where they are providing stereo imaging of the Sun.

Mesarch, Michael A.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Wakeshield WSF-02 GPS Experiment

Shuttle mission STS-69 was launched on September 7, 1995, 10:09 CDT, carrying the Wake Shield Facility (WSF-02). The WSF-02 spacecraft included a set of payloads provided by the Texas Space Grant Consortium, known as TexasSat. One of the TexasSat payloads was a GPS TurboRogue receiver loaned by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research. On September 11, the WSF-02 was unberthed from the Endeavour payload bay using the remote manipulator system. The GPS receiver was powered on prior to release and the WSF-02 remained in free-flight for three days before being retrieved on September 14. All WSF-02 GPS data, which includes dual frequency pseudorange and carrier phase, were stored in an on-board recorder for post-flight analysis, but "snap- shots" of data were transmitted for 2-3 minutes at intervals of several hours, when permitted by the telemetry band- widdl The GPS experiment goals were: (1) an evaluation of precision orbit determination in a low altitude environment (400 km) where perturbations due to atmospheric drag and the Earth's gravity field are more pronounced than for higher altitude satellites with high precision orbit requirements, such as TOPEX/POSEIDON; (2) an assessment of relative positioning using the WSF GPS receiver and the Endeavour Collins receiver; and (3) determination of atmospheric temperature profiles using GPS signals passing through the atmosphere. Analysis of snap-shot telemetry data indicate that 24 hours of continuous data were stored on board, which includes high rate (50 Hz) data for atmosphere temperature profiles. Examination of the limited number of real-time navigation solutions show that at least 7 GPS satellites were tracked simultaneously and the on-board clock corrections were at the microsec level, as expected. Furthermore, a dynamical consistency test provided a further validation of the on-board navigation solutions. Complete analysis will be conducted in post-flight using the data recorded on-board.

Schutz, B. E.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Calibration of the Space Shuttle Microwave Scanning Beam Landing System using a laser tracker

Verification tests of the Space Shuttle Microwave Scanning Beam Landing System (MSBLS) performed with respect to the Precision Laser Tracking System are reported. MSBLS ground station measurements of the azimuth, elevation and range of a NASA Jetstar aircraft equipped with a laser retroreflector, a MSBLS antenna and commissioning instruments including a MSBLS navigation set of the type installed in the Orbiter, during the performance of radial, orbital and glideslope runs with respect to the ground station were compared with laser ground station measurements of aircraft position. Data obtained from flight testing at Shuttle landing sites reveal MSBLS distance measuring equipment performance to be very good, with elevation errors found at very low elevation angles and azimuth errors as a function of aircraft attitude. The Precision Laser Tracking System has thus proven to be a satisfactory instrument for determining MSBLS performance, and an ideal instrument for its calibration.

Ford, K.↗
NASA NTRS1991

High precision applications of the global positioning system

The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a constellation of U.S. defense navigation satellites which can be used for military and civilian positioning applications. A wide variety of GPS scientific applications were identified and precise positioning capabilities with GPS were already demonstrated with data available from the present partial satellite constellation. Expected applications include: measurements of Earth crustal motion, particularly in seismically active regions; measurements of the Earth's rotation rate and pole orientation; high-precision Earth orbiter tracking; surveying; measurements of media propagation delays for calibration of deep space radiometric data in support of NASA planetary missions; determination of precise ground station coordinates; and precise time transfer worldwide.

Lichten, Stephen M.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Evaluation of spacecraft navigation using the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS)

The navigational capabilities of the TDRSS for the operational support of user spacecraft is evaluated. A batch-weighted least-squares algorithm is used to fit tracking measurements and to generate orbit solutions for the TDRS-E spacecraft and the following user spacecraft: (1) the SMM, (2) the Landsat-5, (3) the Earth Radiation Budget Satellite (ERBS), and (4) the Solar Mesosphere Explorer (SME). TDRS-E orbit accuracy was evaluated by using the consistency of consecutive orbit solutions as a measure; user orbit accuracy was estimated by comparing orbits determined from TDRSS tracking with orbits obtained from ground tracking for the same time periods. It was found that the predicted accuracy of the TDRS-E orbit propagation was improved by as much as seven times by refining the spherical harmonic expansion model of the earth's potential field. The results obtained for SMM were fairly consistent, while those obtained for Landsat-5 were consistent to better than 80 meters. The orbits obtained using ERBS tracking were consistent to better than 60 meters and the SME orbits for two arcs with 14 and 20 passes of TDRSS tracking had a maximum position difference of 140 meters.

Samii, M. V.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Preliminary Planning for NEAR's Low-Altitude Operations at 433 Eros

On February 14, 2000, an orbit insertion burn will place NASA's Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) spacecraft (S/C) into orbit around asteroid 433 Eros. NEAR will initially orbit Eros with distances ranging from 500 to 100 km in order to characterize the shape, gravity and spin of Eros. Once the physical parameters of Eros are determined reasonably well, the plan is to establish an orbit of the NEAR S/C with increasingly lower altitudes as the one year orbital mission progresses while further characterizing the gravity and shape of Eros. Towards the end of the NEAR mission, after the shape, gravity and spin of Eros have been well characterized, the scientific interest of obtaining very close observations (< 5 km) can be realized. The navigation during this phase relies on a combination of NASA's Deep Space Network (DSN) radio metric tracking, laser ranging (LIDAR) data from the S/C to the surface of Eros, and onboard optical imaging of landmarks on Eros. This paper will provide preliminary plans for mission design and navigation during the last two months of the orbit phase, where several close passes to the surface will be incorporated to enhance the science return. The culmination of these close passes will result in the eventual landing of the S/C on the surface of Eros. Several considerations for these plans are given by Antreasian, et at. [1998]. The objective for the end of the mission will be to land the S/C autonomously using the surface relative information obtained from the onboard LIDAR instrument. The goal will be to soft land the S/C in such a way as to keep it operational. With the use of an onboard LIDAR landing algorithm as discussed by Antreasian et at. [1998], it is believed that the S/C impact velocity can be kept well under 7 m/s which is a requirement for allowing the S/C to remain operational.

Antreasian, P. G.↗