Celest computer program for computing satellite orbits

Author / Creator

O'Toole, James W

Available as

Physical

Summary

The Celest Computer Program uses raw Doppler data to determine satellite orbits. It provides diagnostic information on the quality of the orbits and the data used in producing those orbits. The bas...

The Celest Computer Program uses raw Doppler data to determine satellite orbits. It provides diagnostic information on the quality of the orbits and the data used in producing those orbits. The basic technique employed is one of weighted least squares where the data is edited and weighted within the program. An iterative capability exists for nonlinear problems. Trajectories are formed by directly integrating the equations of motion in an inertial frame. The force equation has components due to earth, sun and moon gravity, solar radiation, thrust, atmospheric drag, solar and lunar tidal distortion. A satellite frequency offset error can be determined, and the program has the facility for determining unknown receiver locations. The computer program occupies 130 octal units of memory, is structured as nine major overlays, and is completely written in FORTRAN. The program is primarily operated on a sixty hit CDC 6700 computer. (Author).

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