scope:

This Technical Report prescribes the manner in which orbit determination and estimation techniques are to be described so that parties can plan operations with sufficient margin to accommodate different individual approaches to orbit determination and estimation. This Technical Report does not require the exchange of orbit data nor does it prescribe a method of performing orbit determination. It only prescribes the information that shall accompany such data so that collaborating satellite owners/operators understand the similarities and differences between their independent orbit determination processes.

All satellite owners/operators are entitled to a preferred approach to physical approximations, numerical implementation, and computational execution of orbit determination and estimation of future states of their satellites. Mission demands should determine the architecture (speed of execution, required precision, etc.). This Technical Report will enable stakeholders to describe their techniques in a manner that is uniformly understood. Implementation details that can have proprietary or competitive advantage need not be revealed.