A spacecraft-borne gradiometer mission analysis

Abstract

Numerical simulations were performed to obtain the orbit- and attitude-determination requirements of a spacecraft-borne gradiometer mission. Results demonstrated that position determination of 300 meters in the along-track and cross-track directions and 50 meters in the radial direction are mission requirements. The optimal orientation of the gradiometer sensing plane is achieved when the spin vector elevation is 0 degrees. The attitude-determination requirements are 5 degrees resolution for spin-vector azimuth and 0.2 degree resolution for spin-vector elevation. When these requirements are met, 3-degree gravity anomalies can be recovered globally with an accuracy of 0.025/mm/sq s (2.5 mgals). The Appendix documents the mathematical procedures for estimating detailed gravity fields from gradiometer data.