Observability and Estimability Analysis of Geosynchronous Objects with Angles-Only Measurements

With easier access to space and mega-constellation plans, tracking the resident space object (RSO) population becomes a greater challenge. Efficiently obtaining the maximum possible knowledge from each RSO observation is required for improved propagation and identification. Observability and estimability have been used to mathematically define which parameters of a dynamical system can be determined with certain measurement types and to interpret how well the states are or can be estimated relative to one another. This work analyzes both observability, in a deterministic and in a stochastic sense, and estimability as measures to judge either a priori or a posteriori estimation results. The system of interest in this work is an RSO orbit with object characteristic information.