THERMOSPHERE MODELS

The motion of a satellite depends on gravitational and non-gravitational accelerations. A major problem in precise orbit determination (POD) of low-Earth orbiting (LEO) objects such as satellites or space debris is modelling the thermospheric drag. It is the largest non-gravitational acceleration for satellites with altitudes lower than 1000 km and decelerates their movement.

TIPOD aims on improving the POD of LEO satellites by applying further developed thermosphere models. For this purpose, data from various satellite tracking techniques (SLR, GNSS and DORIS) are assimilated into a physical coupled thermosphere-ionosphere model.

Aalborg University contributes in estimating thermosphere density from on-board accelerometer measurements and in implementing data assimilation frameworks based on empirical and coupled thermosphere-ionosphere models (doi.10.1093/gji/ggaa507 & doi:10.1093/gji/ggz163).

AAU Space Group - Researchers