Preliminary orbit determination of a tethered satellite (Q2371458)

As the motion ot tethered satellites is disturbed by the presence of tether force, it is necessary to identify tethered satellites among non-tethered satellites in the orbit determination process. In fact, the methods of orbit determination and orbit improvement should be different from those for nonitethered satellites. In this paper modifications of four classical orbit determination methods are made to allow for the identification of tethered satellites. The authors apply these modified orbit determination methods to the problem of identification of a tethered satellite.