Innovations in space surveillance came together again at the 6^th International Workshop on Key Topics in Orbit Propagation Applied to Space Situational Awareness (KePASSA) from 12 to 14 June. As in previous years, GMV participated as a speaker with various presentations.

In Arras, France, experts in orbital dynamics, space surveillance, and satellite control met to discuss the challenges of space debris monitoring from multiple perspectives.

GMV’s contribution focused on new techniques to improve the robustness of orbit estimation and propagation methods in the context of space surveillance and tracking (SST). The presentation showed the promising results of algorithms developed under the European Space Agency (ESA) project Robust Orbit Determination for Space Debris, led by GMV in collaboration with the University of Liverpool and Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. The project’s efforts have focused on improving the more classical methods, considering the need to obtain more accurate orbital estimates and predictions, while maintaining low computational cost.

The latest advances in improving covariance realism in orbit estimation and propagation were also presented. This second presentation described the novel aspects developed as part of the new methodology for characterizing and estimating uncertainty in orbit estimation and propagation models, which makes it possible to improve the realism of the orbit covariance (orbit uncertainty). Finally, the results of the methodology’s operational validation were presented using real observations of the GRAVES space surveillance radar provided by the French Space Agency (CNES). This work forms part of an industrial doctorate project in the Community of Madrid, led by GMV in collaboration with Universidad Carlos III de Madrid.

The Scientific Computing and Technological Innovation Center (SCoTIC) of the University of La Rioja organized this year’s International Workshop, together with the CNES and the French Institute for Celestial Mechanics and Ephemeris Calculation (IMCCE).