Patents by Inventor Hunt W. Small

Hunt W. Small has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Real time position correction to ground generated spacecraft ephemeris
    Patent number: 5862495
    Abstract: Real time correction to ground generated satellite ephemeris implements a reference trajectory management module (334), an error estimation module (336), an parameter calculation module (338) and a position information management module (340). The reference trajectory management module (334) accesses reference trajectory data such as ground generated ephemeris data which is uplinked to a spacecraft through a communications unit (312). The position information management module (340) accesses and interprets position information such as Global Positioning System (GPS) measurement data to provide measured spacecraft positions. The parameter calculation module (338) calculates spacecraft position and velocity from the reference trajectory data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 18, 1996
    Date of Patent: January 19, 1999
    Assignee: Lockheed Martin Corp.
    Inventors: Hunt W. Small, John E. Bergesen, Brian J. Howley