Satellite Orbit and Ephemeris Determination using Inter Satellite Links

Inter Satellite LinksOrbit ComputationRadial [m] Along Track [m] Cross Track [m]500 km LEO 14 322 0.19800 km LEO 0.65 9.83 01250 km LEO 0.01 0.18 0MEO 0 0 0GEO 0 0 0IGSO 0 0 0Table 4-15 Air Drag Perturbation after 6 HoursThe following figures indicates the orbit error of a 800 km LEO neglecting air drag, over aprediction period of one day.0Orbit Error [m]-50-100-150RadialAlong TrackCross Track-20006:39:30.000 13:19:30.000 19:59:30.000UTC [hours:minutes:seconds]Figure 4-8 Orbit Error of 800 km LEO neglecting Air DragAir drag forces act in direction of the flight path, i.e. the along track error is affected most. Asa secondary effect, the orbit altitude decreases due to the dissipation of kinetic energy. TheR. Wolf Page 53