SA · ORBIT DETERMINATION · SHORT COURSE · 14JUN26
Orbit Determination
A short course.
A twelve-lecture introduction to orbit determination — from orbital mechanics and the two-body problem through coordinate systems, measurement simulation, and fitting real measurements into a state estimate. Taught by Dr. Christopher R. Simpson. Free, self-paced, with lecture notes and video.
Who it is for
Students and engineers who want a working understanding of how a state estimate is built from measurements. Some calculus and basic orbital mechanics help, but the course builds from first principles.
Syllabus
- Lecture 1 — Orbit determination concepts
- Lecture 2 — Orbital mechanics
- Lecture 3 — Problem solution and review
- Lecture 4 — The two-body problem
- Lecture 5 — Perturbed motion
- Lecture 6 — Coordinate systems and time
- Lecture 7 — Ideal and conceptual measurements
- Lecture 8 — Simulating ideal measurements
- Lecture 9 — Conceptual measurements
- Lecture 10 — Conceptual example, part 1
- Lecture 11 — Conceptual example, part 2
- Lecture 12 — Real measurements
Problem sets & assessment
How to follow along
Work the lectures in order. Each builds on the last. Questions are welcome on each lecture’s video page — discussion is the point.
Originally taught Spring 2019; refreshed and re-launched 2026.
Valuable information. Fortunate me I discovered your ste by chance,
and I amm surprised why this twist of fate did not
happened earlier! I bookmarked it.
This is very interesting, You are a very skilled blogger.
I have joined your feed and look forward to seeking more of your
fantastic post. Also, I have shared your website in my social networks!
Hello, every time i used to check webpage posts here
early in the dawn, for the reason that i like to gain knowledge of more and more.
Greetings! I’ve been reading your weblog for some time now and finally got the courage to go ahead and give you a shout
out from Kingwood Texas! Just wanted to mention keep
up the great work!