Precise autonomous satellite navigation for high alitude and scientific missions

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With more than 40 funded Lunar missions due to launch in the next 10 years and the number of earth orbiting satellite increasing rapidly, the need for precise and reliable autonomous navigation has never been greater. Current methods of navigation at high altitudes are costly and have limited accuracy, while scientific and crewed missions have increasing more stringent navigation and timing requirements. Initial studies by NGI and others are showing the potential for GNSS to be used at Lunar altitudes, in many cases outperforming ground based tracking techniques. The addition of navigation sources in Lunar orbit are showing vast improvements in navigation performance enabling many novel scientific missions and autonomous rendezvous and landing. NGI have developed a simulation software for the analysis of spacecraft navigation performance with GNSS and other systems. This research will build on the initial studies performed at NGI to define different augmentation systems and the potential for additional sensors to improve performance and enable autonomous navigation for Lunar orbits.