Real-Time Drag Determination for Kwajalein Missile Range (KMR) Tracking Development

The primary goal of the Phase I effort is to develp an algorithm and determine its feasibility, for Kwajalein Radars, to estimate and correct for drag acceleration on reentry objects. In developing the design an evaluation fo both KMR radar tracking performance and reentry object trajectories will be performed to determine the performance requirements of the drag estimation and correction algorithm. Using these requirements an algorithm will be designed that recursively estimates the aerodynamic chracteristics for an object and then uses this information to predict the location of the object at the next update. This design will be analyzed to determine its performance on specific KMR Radars (ALCOR, MMW, FPQ-19). THe result of Phase I will indicate the effectiveness of the algorithm and its applicability to KMR (and other test range) tracking needs. Phase II will validate the algorithm using simulation and real KMR data and then deliver the algorithm. Phase II will also include an assessment of the commercial applications for the tracking filter.