Precise orbit determination of high-Earth elliptical orbiters using differenced Doppler and ranging measurements

Recent advances in NASA´s Deep Space Network station calibration methods have led to renewed interest in the use of differenced radiometric data types for interplanetary navigation, particularly differenced Doppler and range. An orbit determination error analysis which compares the performance of these differenced data types when used in concert with conventional two-way Doppler for precise navigation of high-Earth orbiters is described. Three highly elliptical orbits are investigated, with apogee heights on the order of 20000 km, 70000 km, and 156000 km. Results indicate that the most significant navigational accuracy improvements are seen for the lowest-altitude orbit by using differenced Doppler measurements in conjunction with two-way Doppler. The results for the two higher-altitude orbits suggest that accuracy improvements can also be achieved when differenced range measurements are combined with two-way Doppler