A Precision Recursive Estimate for Ephemeris Refinement (PREFER)

A recursive filter/smoother orbit determination program was developed to refine the ephemerides produced by a batch orbit determination program (e.g., CELEST, GEODYN). The program PREFER can handle a variety of ground and satellite to satellite tracking types as well as satellite altimetry. It was tested on simulated data which contained significant modeling errors and the results clearly demonstrate the superiority of the program compared to batch estimation.