The capabilities of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) based precision orbit determination alone may not be enough to support the needs of some satellite missions requiring precise relative or absolute positioning. It would then be necessary to augment the observations generated by an on-board GNSS receiver with additional observations of the spacecraft in order to improve the satellite state estimation. These observations could be in the form of ground-based laser ranging, or through satellite-based observations of additional ground station radio beacons. Another method, for a satellite constellation or formation, would be to add additional low-low instesatellite range observations. These could be created using a variety of methods, including existing on-board radio systems. This paper discusses the setup of a simulation environment in support of the upcoming Ranging and Nanosatelllite Guidance Experiment (RANGE) CubeSat mission. For this mission, observations of the intersatellite range will be made using a commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) dedicated laser ranging system. The simulation methodology outlined here will allow for estimation of the gains to precision orbit determination that should be achievable in this mission. This procedure can be generalized to other hardware and intersatellite ranging methodologies.
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