Autonomous Observability of Networked Multisatellite Systems

The focus of this paper is on the development of observability theory and estimation algorithms for multisatellite systems. The results could have applications in space missions that require minimum support from ground control centers and other systems such as the Global Positioning System. The main results consist of 1) the observability of two satellites, either cooperative or noncooperative, using relative measurements only, 2) a computational method for networked multiagent systems to check the observability using their topologies of communication and sensor network, 3) an unscented Kalman filter for the estimation of orbits, positions, and velocities using relative measurements, and 4) simulations on the observability of satellite systems, including a scenario of two satellites and, in another simulation, a networked multisatellite constellation with random communication interruptions.