Fast angles-only initial relative orbit determination for onboard application

Abstract

This paper presents three computationally-light algorithms to solve the initial relative orbit determination problem using line-of-sight measurements. A comparative assessment of their performance and robustness is assessed, based on real flight data from two different in-orbit experiments. The proposed algorithms are optimized for the challenging scenario of far-range noncooperative rendezvous in low Earth orbits. Accordingly, these algorithms are meant to support active debris removal missions, where a first guess solution is required to initialize the onboard relative navigation system.