Orbit estimation using a horizon detector in the presence of uncertain celestial body rotation and geometry

This paper presents an orbit estimation using non-simultaneous horizon detector measurements in the presence of uncertainties in the celestial body rotational velocity and its geometrical characteristics. The celestial body is modeled as a tri-axial ellipsoid with a three-dimensional force field. The non-simultaneous modelling provides the possibility to consider the time gap between horizon measurements. An unscented Kalman filter is used to estimate the spacecraft state variables and the geometric characteristics as well as the rotational velocity vector of the celestial body. A Monte-Carlo simulation is implemented to verify the results. Simulations showed that using non-simultaneous horizon vector measurements, the spacecraft state errors converge to zero even in the presence of an uncertain geometry and rotational velocity of the celestial body.