Abstract's details
Early SWOT POD Results
CoAuthors
Event: 2023 Ocean Surface Topography Science Team Meeting
Session: Precision Orbit Determination
Presentation type: Type Oral
Contribution: PDF file
Abstract:
The NASA-CNES climate science Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite was successfully launched in December 2022. This mission embodies the longstanding cooperation between CNES and NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in space oceanography for 40 years, initiated with TOPEXPoseidon in 1992, subsequently pursued through the Jason series of satellites (1 to 3 between 2001 and 2016) and continued in 2020 with the Copernicus Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich mission.
SWOT is the first space mission that will study nearly all of the water on the Earth’s surface. To complete this global survey and mapping of the finer details of the ocean’s surface topography and water bodies over time, the satellite is equipped with a GPS (Global Positioning System) and DORIS (Doppler Orbitography and Radiopositioning Integrated by Satellite) dual-frequency receivers, as well as a Laser Retroreflector Array (LRA) to support verification of the challenging Precision Orbit Determination (POD) requirements.
In this paper, we will present the principles behind the SWOT precise orbit determination, the current results and efforts underway to improve the orbit precision. An assessment of the orbit quality will be provided through POD metrics including analysis of tracking data residuals and direct orbit comparisons.
SWOT is the first space mission that will study nearly all of the water on the Earth’s surface. To complete this global survey and mapping of the finer details of the ocean’s surface topography and water bodies over time, the satellite is equipped with a GPS (Global Positioning System) and DORIS (Doppler Orbitography and Radiopositioning Integrated by Satellite) dual-frequency receivers, as well as a Laser Retroreflector Array (LRA) to support verification of the challenging Precision Orbit Determination (POD) requirements.
In this paper, we will present the principles behind the SWOT precise orbit determination, the current results and efforts underway to improve the orbit precision. An assessment of the orbit quality will be provided through POD metrics including analysis of tracking data residuals and direct orbit comparisons.