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Orbit Determination (OD) enables you to compute precise spacecraft orbits by processing tracking measurements. Configure estimation runs, review residuals, and manage the resulting orbit solutions through an intuitive wizard interface. Route: /orbits/orbit-determination/solutions

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Overview

Orbit Determination uses tracking measurements (range, angles, position/velocity) to estimate spacecraft state vectors with associated uncertainties. The platform supports:
  • Batch Least Squares estimation from tracking measurements
  • Maneuver estimation for thrust scale and pointing calibration
  • Residual analysis for data quality assessment
  • Maneuver-aware processing where detected maneuvers during the measurement arc are either estimated or considered

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Page Layout

The Solutions page uses a split-view design with a solution list on the right and a details panel on the left. Od Solutions

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Viewing Orbit Solutions

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Solution List

The solution list displays orbit solutions with the following information:
  • Solution ID: Unique identifier
  • Status: Convergence indicator icon (green checkmark = converged, red X = failed, gray circle = unknown)
  • Measurements: Total measurement count used (hover for breakdown by type)
  • Spacecraft: Colored satellite icon matching the spacecraft’s assigned color
  • Created: Creation date in short format (hover for full UTC timestamp)

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Filtering Solutions

  • Spacecraft: Filter by one or more spacecraft using the spacecraft filter bar (empty shows all)
  • Time Range: Filter by solution creation date
  • Group: Group solutions by spacecraft or show as flat list
Solutions are paginated within each group (5 per page) with navigation controls.

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Details Panel

Click a solution to view details in the left panel. Use the Previous/Next navigation buttons at the top of the panel to step through solutions without returning to the list. Overview Section:
  • Spacecraft name with colored icon
  • Creation date (UTC)
  • Reference frame (GCRF, EME2000, TEME, or ITRF)
State Vector Section:
  • Epoch (UTC)
  • Mass (kg), or “From state vector” if mass was inherited
  • Toggle between Keplerian and Cartesian tabs:
    • Keplerian: Semi-major axis (km), Eccentricity, Inclination (°), RAAN (°), Arg. of periapsis (°), True anomaly (°)
    • Cartesian: Position X/Y/Z (km), Velocity X/Y/Z (km/s)
Residuals Section:
  • Arc time span (start and end epochs)
  • Tabbed scatter plots by measurement type:
    • Range: Residuals in meters
    • RA/Dec: Right ascension and declination residuals in arcseconds
    • Az/El: Azimuth and elevation residuals in arcseconds
    • PV: Position (m) and velocity (m/s) residuals for X/Y/Z components
  • Measurement count badge on each tab showing how many measurements of that type were used
  • Sensor legend with dynamic color coding (up to 8 distinct sensor colors)
  • Maneuver overlay toggle (flame icon button): Show or hide vertical markers at maneuver epochs on the residual plots. This helps identify whether residual patterns correlate with propulsive events
Maneuvers Section: The maneuvers section shows how maneuvers during the measurement arc were handled. Maneuvers are split into two groups:
  • Estimated maneuvers: Full cards showing thrust estimation results for each maneuver that was selected for estimation:
    • Normalized performance — thrust scale as a percentage of nominal (100.0% = nominal thrust). Color-coded: green (95–105%), orange (90–110%), red (outside 10% deviation)
    • Azimuth deviation — pointing offset in degrees from nominal thrust direction
    • Elevation deviation — pointing offset in degrees from nominal thrust direction
    • Execution epoch — when the maneuver was executed (UTC)
    • Individual fields show “N/A” when only partially estimated
  • Considered maneuvers: Compact pills showing only the maneuver ID. These are maneuvers that occurred during the measurement arc but were not selected for thrust estimation. They are still accounted for in the orbit propagation (the OD process uses their nominal delta-V) but no thrust scale or pointing corrections are computed
When no maneuvers were present during the arc, a “No Maneuver Estimations” empty state is displayed. Activity Section: Timeline showing when the solution was created.

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Running Orbit Estimation

Click New Orbit Determination in the toolbar to open the configuration wizard. The wizard guides you through the following steps to configure and launch an orbit estimation.

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Step 1: Initial State

Configure the starting point for orbit estimation:
  • Source Type: Choose between:
    • Public TLE — Automatically fetched from SpaceTrack using the spacecraft’s NORAD ID. The TLE is displayed read-only once loaded. Requires a NORAD ID to be configured on the spacecraft
    • State Vector — Select an existing state vector from the system (last 30 days, sorted by epoch)
  • Mass: Spacecraft mass in kilograms. Choose between entering a manual override or inheriting mass from the selected state vector
Depending on the source type, configure the TLE or state vector parameters. Od Step 1

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Step 2: Measurements

Configure which measurements to use for estimation:
  • Spacecraft: Select the spacecraft (shown in wizard header)
  • Time Range: Configure the measurement arc using one of two modes:
    • Rolling window: Last N days from current time (default 7 days). Adjustable via slider from 6 hours to 10 days in 6-hour increments
    • Custom range: Select a specific end date via date picker (up to 90 days in the past)
  • Measurement Types: Select data types to include — RA/Dec, Az/El, Range, PV. All available types are selected by default
  • Data Sources: Select specific sensors from available sources. Only shown when sensors are associated with the measurement data
  • Distribution Chart: Interactive chart visualizing measurement coverage, groupable by type or by sensor
Od Step 2

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Step 3: Maneuvers

Configure which maneuvers to include for thrust scale estimation during orbit determination. Three selection modes are available:
  • All: Estimate thrust scale for every maneuver detected in the measurement time range
  • None: Don’t estimate any maneuvers (maneuvers are still considered with their nominal delta-V)
  • Above ΔV: Only estimate maneuvers with delta-V at or above a specified threshold (in m/s)
The maneuver list shows all detected maneuvers during the measurement period, each displaying its ID code, delta-V value (m/s), and execution epoch (UTC). Selected maneuvers are highlighted; unselected ones appear dimmed. When enabled, the OD process estimates thrust scale corrections for selected maneuvers, improving orbit accuracy across propulsive events. Unselected maneuvers are still propagated using their nominal parameters.

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Step 4: Residuals Preview

Preview residual behavior before running the full estimation. This step shows pre-computation residuals as scatter plots, grouped by measurement type. Use the Refresh button to recompute residuals after adjusting parameters. Outliers are marked in the plots for identification before launching. Od Residuals

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Step 5: Review

Review all configuration settings before launching. The review page shows summary cards for:
  • Initial State — Source type (TLE or State Vector), source details, and mass
  • Measurements — Time span and selected measurement types
  • Maneuvers — Selected maneuver codes displayed as pills, or “No maneuvers selected” when none are chosen
Each card has an edit button to jump back to that step and adjust settings. Click Launch Orbit Determination to start the process.

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Monitoring OD Progress

After launching, the platform processes OD jobs asynchronously. You can navigate away and return later to view results. The solution will appear in the list once processing completes. Solution status is indicated by icons in the solution list:
  • Green checkmark: Converged successfully
  • Red X: Failed to converge
  • Gray circle: Unknown/processing

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Deleting Orbit Solutions

From the details panel header, click the ⋮ menu and select Delete Solution. A confirmation dialog will appear before deletion.