New High-Altitude GPS Navigation Results from the Magnetospheric Multiscale Spacecraft and Simulations at Lunar Distances
Abstract
As reported in a companion work [13], in its first phase, NASAs 2015 highly elliptic MMS mission set a record for the highest altitude operational use of on-board GPS-based navigation, returning state estimates at 12 Earth radii. In early 2017 MMS transitioned to its second phase which doubled the apogee distance to 25 Earth radii, approaching halfway to the Moon. This paper will present results for GPS observability and navigation performance achieved in MMS Phase 2. Additionally, it will provide simulation results predicting the performance of the MMS navigation system applied to a pair of concept missions at Lunar distances. These studies will demonstrate how high-sensitivity GPS (or GNSS) receivers paired with onboard navigation software, as in MMS-Navigation system, can extend the envelope of autonomous onboard GPS navigation far from the Earth.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2018
- Accession Number
- AD1121959
Entities
People
- Luke B. Winternitz
- Samuel R. Price
- William A. Bamford
Organizations
- Emergent Space Technologies (United States)
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration