Determination of simplified analytical expressions for the calculation and propagation of orbits by the use of the theory of parameter estimation

The principal perturbations on artificial satellites orbits are discussed and an approximated mathematical model using parameterized expressions is proposed to represent the time variation of orbit elements. The parameters in these expressions are determined from observational (or simulated) data, employing estimation theory through the use of Kalman filtering sequential techniques. The analytical expressions obtained allow orbit predictions with significant saving in time and without the need of sophisticated computational resources.