Colloquium: Cas Ruks (Space)

Space Surveillance and Tracking (SST) oversees the cataloguing and mapping of the space debris population and Resident Space Objects (RSO) in the near-Earth environment. This thesis implemented Siminski’s object correlation method and investigated the use of classical and multiple angle Initial Orbit Determination (IOD) method(s) as well as a Batch Least Squares (BLS) Orbit Determination (OD) method with the aim of increasing robustness of the cataloguing pipeline. Results indicate correlation performs best for GEO measurements, while lower altitudes required higher uncertainty thresholds for adequate correlation accuracy. The multiple angles and classical IOD methods, applied to the larger set of correlated measurements, did not prove meaningful for increasing robustness. Furthermore, BLS struggles with sparse, temporally distributed measurements and a limiting force-model, failing to improve initial state accuracy. Recommendations include incorporating force models for lower altitudes and investigating the impact of correlation accuracy on higher-fidelity OD methods.

Supervisor: Steve Gehly