An Unbiased Analysis of the Doppler Coordinate Systems,

Abstract

The Doppler system has undergone at least five major revisions, or improvements, in its definition since original inception. Some of the so-called 'minor' modifications of the past have not been well documented and corresponding rigorous updating of the software in many instances is also lacking. The actual impact and contribution of each such modification and the absence of proper updating towards inner consistency are not negligible in the present sub-meter era. The questions whether (1) the Broadcast Ephermeris (BE) based coordinates are either automatically calculated in the WGS 72 datum or derived with respect to the reference ellipsoid for the WGS 72 datum; (2) the BE system, except for a small bias, is close to the NSWC 9Z-2 system; (3) the BE based coordinates are in the NWL 9D system or 'strictly speaking' in the modified NWL 10D system; (4) the Doppler coordinate system as NWL 9D prior to June 1977 and is NSWC 9Z-2 now; and (5) the coordinate system NWL 9D (and/or NSWC 9Z-2) is geocentric or has a significant Z-axis bias, are still floating around. The net result is misunderstanding and misinterpretation for many users. The present paper tries to highlight some of the related problems and to answer them as well as possible.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Feb 01, 1982
Accession Number
ADA110510

Entities

People

  • Muneendra Kumar

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Accuracy
  • Artificial Satellites
  • Consistency
  • Coordinate Systems
  • Data Processing
  • Data Reduction
  • Doppler Systems
  • Ellipsoids
  • Ephemerides
  • Geodesy
  • Geodetic Surveys
  • Mathematical Models
  • Models
  • Navigation
  • Precision
  • Reference Ellipsoids
  • World Geodetic System

Readers

  • Geodesy
  • Space Exploration and Orbital Mechanics.
  • Systems Analysis and Design