As space becomes increasingly crowded and space missions become more ambitious, the ability to track an asset in orbit is critical. 

Orbit determination, defined as the estimation of an object’s orbit in space, enables an operator to ensure its satellite has the orbital accuracy to perform its mission, James Woodburn, fellow and chief orbital scientist at Ansys Government Initiatives, the national security division of software company Ansys, tells Connectivity Business News in this episode of “The Dish” podcast. 

Orbital accuracy maximizes a satellite operator’s return on investment, he says. 

Software-defined satellites 

Woodburn is joined on the podcast by Jim Wertz, adjunct professor of astronautical engineering at the University of Southern California and president of aerospace company Microcosm. 

“Orbit determination is a bear of a problem for spacecraft,” due to drastic changes in atmospheric density in orbit, Wertz says. The ability to reconfigure a satellite through software in response to atmospheric changes can preserve a mission, he says. 

 Woodburn and Wertz expect an uptake in lunar missions in 2025, despite NASA’s recent announcement that it will be delaying its Artemis program. 

“The idea of putting people back on the surface of the moon, I think, is extremely exciting,” Woodburn says. “And I think the best way for us to prepare for this is through the types of [orbit] analysis that we're capable of doing now.” 

Tune into this episode of “The Dish” to hear the full conversation with Woodburn and Wertz.