PACE Satellite Definitive Orbital Position and Velocity Records

High-precision, post-processed ephemeris records describe the reconstructed orbital position and velocity of NASA's PACE spacecraft over time. The dataset provides the most accurate estimate of the satellite's trajectory, based on ground-processed tracking and navigation data, supporting precise geolocation for the mission's science instruments. It is produced by OB_CLOUD for use in mission operations and science data processing.

Use Cases

• Precise geolocation of PACE science observations by mapping instrument data to Earth coordinates using the reconstructed orbital position and velocity fields.
• Calibration of OCI, HARP2, and SPEXone instrument data by correcting for satellite motion and orientation errors derived from the definitive ephemeris.
• Reprocessing of historical PACE mission data by applying improved trajectory estimates from the post-processed ephemeris records.
• Validation of real-time or predicted orbit models by comparing them against the definitive, high-accuracy ephemeris data.

Strengths

• Definitive ephemerides represent the most accurate post-processed estimate of spacecraft trajectory.
• Global coverage supports geolocation for all PACE mission science observations.

Limitations

• Specific temporal coverage, row count, and update frequency are unknown.
• Data utility is limited to users with expertise in orbital mechanics and satellite data processing.

Provenance

Source

NASA's Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) mission, via NASA Earthdata.

Collection Method

Generated from ground-processed tracking and navigation data.

Geography

Global coverage.