Dynamical Issues in Space Situational Awareness

The objective of this study was to conduct fundamental research in the eld of Space Situational Awareness related to the topics of orbital and rotational dynamics, maneuver detection and the determination of operational bounds of active satellites, and probing fundamental constraints on uncertainty mapping and orbit determination in the space environment. Our goal was to bring a rigorous approach to the study of active and non-active space object dynamics to better understand the dynamics that shape their motion and the change events that active bodies are commanded to undergo. As motivation, results from this research program can be used to develop a better understanding of the evolution of a passive or active space object's state and how models of these effects can be estimated and improved. These studies will also lead to improved tracking strategies to enable the identification of hypothesized physical effects, improved modeling techniques to more accurately SSA observations, and the development of methods to analytically discern the actions of controlled space objects based on measurable quantities. Research methods used in this study rely on fundamental astrodynamics, optimal control and dynamical systems theory. This was a multi-investigator and multi-institution proposal. At the University of Colorado the research is led by co-PI Prof. Daniel J. Scheeres and supports graduate students. At Texas A and M University the research is led by co-PI Prof. Kyle T. Alfriend and also supports a post-doctoral scholar and a graduate student.