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Orbit Determination

Satcat provides orbit determination services for spacecraft with GNSS telemetry, supporting mission phases from LEOP to on-orbit operations. These services generate high-confidence ephemerides with realistic covariance for use in screening, cataloging, and coordination workflows across the Satcat platform.

note

Orbit Determination-as-a-Service (ODaaS) requires a Satcat Operations Enterprise tier subscription.

Service Overview​

Orbit determination runs are executed daily using uploaded opertor-provided GNSS data and maneuver metadata. Results include predictive and post-fit OEMs with propagated covariance, returned in CCSDS formats and used automatically in downstream risk and coordination workflows.

  • Products generated daily and integrated across the platform
  • Realistic covariance based on force modeling and residuals
  • Supports both LEOP and on-orbit mission phases
  • Full SDK/API integration via Kayhan Dynamics OD SDK
  • Optional upload to public catalog services (e.g., Space-Track)

Operator Inputs​

Operators must supply:

  • GNSS telemetry in CSV or JSON format
  • Maneuver information in CCSDS Orbit Parameter Messages (OPM)
  • Spacecraft parameters (e.g. mass, drag coefficient, cross-sectional area)

Uploads are performed via secure S3 endpoints with credentials issued during onboarding.

GNSS Telemetry Requirements​

Telemetry files must include:

  • Timestamped satellite position in UTC, GPS, or TAI time scale
  • Optional velocity vectors and dilution of precision data (if available)
  • Filename format: gnss_<NORADID>_<timestamp>.csv|json

Maneuver Metadata​

If maneuvers occur within the OD window, upload OPM files with:

  • Latest spacecraft parameters
  • Execution time and delta-V vector
  • Optional maneuver uncertainty components
  • Filename format: maneuver_<NORADID>_<timestamp>.opm

Sensor Data Fusion​

For Enterprise users with sensor tasking enabled, Satcat can incorporate commercial tracking data into the orbit determination process. These observations are fused with GNSS telemetry to improve OD fit quality and covariance realism.

  • Supports data from Kayhan-partnered commercial sensor networks
  • Integrated automatically with orbit determination pipelines
  • Fused OD products maintain the same OEM + covariance format

This capability supports:

  • Custody maintenance during GNSS outage or degraded orbit state
  • Covariance tightening near high-risk conjunctions
  • Acquisition of newly launched assets during LEOP
  • Refinement of uncorrelated or poorly tracked RSOs

Learn more about Sensor Tasking

Results​

Orbit determination results are downloadable from the Ephemeris Repository and via the Dynamics SDK.

  • OEMs: Predictive and definitive with propagated, realistic covariance
  • TLEs: Daily generation for ground station tracking support
  • QC Reports: Summary for quality control, solution accuracy, and residual diagnostics
  • Full integration with event screening and operator coordination tools