Preliminary Orbit Determination Experiments on the PRISM Earth Observation Nano-Satellite

Abstract

An experimental Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver based on a Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) hardware and open source signal processing software modified for space applications is planed to be integrated into the PRISM Earth observation nano-satellite. This paper describes the preliminary orbit determination experiments considered to be performed as part of the PRISM missions to study the operation and performance of the COTS-based GPS receiver on a very small and low-power satellite flying in a low Earth orbit.