June 4, 2009 Doc.No.

:A5/Nav/Alg/Geo 01
The Earth Geometry: Position and Velocity
Initialization for Navigation in ECI/ECEF
Jitender Singh
June 4, 2009 Earth Geometry
1 Introduction
The Earth geometry plays key role in inertial navigation in Earth Centered Inertial (ECI)/
Earth Centered Earth Fixed (ECEF) frame. First step of inertial navigation is initial-
isation where initial position and velocity are dened in navigation frame. In general,
navigation frame is geocentric in nature. Denition of a point in geocentric frame required
prior knowledge of earth geometrical parameters. A detailed discussion about geometry of
the earth is given. Equations relating various geometrical parameters are derived. Eect
of approximations made in derivation of these equations is also demonstrated.
The reference ellipsoid of the earth is dened in rst section. Relationship between geode-
tic and geocentric latitudes is derived. The equation for calculating radial distance of a
point on ellipsoid by using ellipsoidal parameters and geodetic latitude is also derived.
The World Geodetic System, 1984 (WGS 84) is used in many applications including GPS.
Important features and parameters of WGS 84 are discussed in last section.
2 The Earth Geometry
Consider an ellipse with semi-major axis, r
e
, and semi-minor axis, r
p
. Place center of
ellipse, O, at the center of mass of the earth (center of mass is a well dened point in
space). Now, orient the semi-minor axis to the rotation axis of the earth (rotation axis,
also called polar axis, is a well dened axis in space). Revolve the ellipse about semi-
minor axis to get an ellipsoid of revolution. The earths shape can be approximated to
this reference ellipsoid.
A plane that passes through the ellipsoid and contains the polar axis is called meridian
plane. The intersection of meridian plane and ellipsoid is an elliptical surface. The
boundary of this surface is an ellipse which is divided into two equal semi-ellipses by polar
axis. The semi-ellipse is called a meridian. The meridian passing through Greenwich (a
place in England which is pronounced as gre-ni-tch) is called the prime meridian.
Figure 1: Geographic coordinates
A plane that passes through the ellipsoid and perpendicular to the polar axis is called a
1
June 4, 2009 Earth Geometry
parallel plane. The intersection of parallel plane and ellipsoid is a circular surface. The
boundary of this surface is called parallel. A parallel plane passing through O is called
the equatorial plane. The parallel formed by equatorial plane is called equator.
Let Q be a point on the earth surface (ellipsoid). There is a meridian passing through
Q. This meridian intersect with the equator at a point, say H. Let the prime meridian
intersect with equator at point G. The

GOH, measured in eastward direction from G
to H, is called the longitude of point Q. The range of longitude is between 0
0
to 360
0
.
The angle between equatorial plane and the line O-Q is called the geocentric latitude
of Q. The range of latitude is between 90
0
to 90
0
. The latitude is positive if Q lies
between equatorial plane and North Pole and it is negative otherwise. These parameters
are shown in gure 1.
Thus a point on the ellipsoid can be dened by two angles, longitude and geocentric
latitude. However, geocentric latitude can not be measured by direct methods because
location of O is unknown. To avoid this diculty, a new angle, called geodetic lati-
tude, is dened as the angle between equatorial plane and the normal to ellipsoid at Q.
Geodetic latitude can be measured by astronomical surveys. It is the angle between polar
axis and the tangent plane to the ellipsoid. The polar axis can be dened by the line
joining O to the Polaris (pole star). The distance between earth and Polaris is almost
10
10
times the earths diameter. Hence angle subtended by earth on Polaris will be of the
order of 10
10
rad, a negligible quantity. Thus polar axis can be dened by a line joining
any point on earth to the Polaris. The tangent plane can be dened by its normal, which
is the plumb line (approximately).
Consider a point, P, in space. To specify P, a coordinate frame is to be dened. Let
origin of the coordinate frame be O and z-axis is toward north pole. x and y axes
lies in equatorial plane and forms an orthogonal right handed frame. The direction of
x and y does not aect the discussion in this article. If x axis passes through prime
meridian and remains xed to it then coordinate frame is called Earth Centered Earth
Fixed (ECEF) frame. If x-axis remains xed w.r.t. distant stars then coordinate frame
is called Earth Centered Inertial (ECI) frame. The position vector that species P
in above mentioned frame(s) is called geocentric position vector, r. In ECEF
1
frame,
this vector can be easily dened by three parameters - distance of the line O-P (r),
geocentric latitude of P (L
c
) and the longitude () of P.
r = (r cos L
c
cos , r cos L
c
sin , r sin L
c
) (1)
However, r and L
c
can not be measured by direct methods. To avoid this diculty, two
more parameters, length of normal projected from P on to ellipsoid, h, and geodetic
latitude, L, are dened. The parameters r, h, L
c
and L are related to each other by the
ellipsoidal parameters, r
e
and r
p
. This section establishes these relationships. It will be
shown that these relationships are in the form of innite series which can be truncated
without introducing signicant errors. The truncations are based on the fact that r
e
r
p
(ellipsoid is almost spherical in shape) and h r
e
(i.e. point of interest is in the vicinity
of earth surface).
1
Same equation is valid for ECI frame but with a suitable denition of .
2
June 4, 2009 Earth Geometry
2.1 The relationship between r and h
The geometrical parameters of the earth are shown in gure 2. P is a point in space.
The plane of the paper is the meridian plane passing through P. The meridians in this
plane form an ellipse with semi-major axis, r
e
, and semi-minor axis, r
p
.
Figure 2: Geometrical parameters
O : center of mass of the earth.
O-e : axis in equatorial plane.
O-p : polar axis.
r
e
: equatorial radius of the ellipsoid.
r
p
: polar radius of the ellipsoid.
P : point in space.
Q : orthogonal projection of P on to the ellipsoid.
R : P-Q extended to O-e.
r
0
: length of the geocentric position vector of Q.
L
c0
: geocentric latitude of Q.
L : geodetic latitude of Q.
r : length of the geocentric position vector of P.
L
c
: geocentric latitude of P.
h : altitude of P (length of Q-P).
D
0
:

RQO (deviation of normal at Q).
D :

RPO (deviation of normal at P).
3
June 4, 2009 Earth Geometry
S : projection of Q on O-e.
2.1.1 Small angle approximation for D
0
From OQS and RQS,
D
0
=

OQS

RQS = (90 L
c0
) (90 L)
= L L
c0
= tan
1
_
x
p0
x
e0
OR
_
L
c0
(2)
OR is the intercept of Q-P (normal to the ellipse at Q) on O-e axis. This intercept can
be easily determined if equation of normal is known. The equation of ellipse is given by,
x
2
e
r
2
e
+
x
2
p
r
2
p
= 1 (3)
The equation of normal to ( 3) at (x
e0
, x
p0
) is given by,
x
p
x
p0
x
e
x
e0
=
1
_
dx
p
dx
e
_
x
e0
,x
p0
(4)
Dierentiating ( 3) w.r.t. x
e
,
2x
e
r
2
e
+
2x
p
r
2
p
dx
p
dx
e
=0

dx
p
dx
e
=
x
e
x
p
r
2
p
r
2
e

_
dx
p
dx
e
_
x
e0
,x
p0
=
x
e0
x
p0
r
2
p
r
2
e
(5)
From ( 4) and ( 5),
x
p
x
p0
x
e
x
e0
=
1
_
x
e0
r
2
p
x
p0
r
2
e
_
x
e
x
e0
=
x
e0
x
p0
r
2
p
r
2
e
(x
p
x
p0
)
x
e
= x
e0
+
x
e0
x
p0
r
2
p
r
2
e
(x
p
x
p0
) (6)
Putting x
p
= 0 in ( 6) to get intercept on O-e axis,
OR = x
e0
+
x
e0
x
p0
r
2
p
r
2
e
(x
p0
) = x
e0
_
1
r
2
p
r
2
e
_
(7)
4
June 4, 2009 Earth Geometry
Putting the value of OR from ( 7) into ( 2),
D
0
= tan
1
_
_
x
p0
x
e0
x
e0
_
1
r
2
p
r
2
e
_
_
_
L
c0
= tan
1
_
_
x
p0
x
e0
r
2
p
r
2
e
_
_
L
c0
= tan
1
_
x
p0
x
e0
r
2
e
r
2
p
_
L
c0
= tan
1
_
r
2
e
r
2
p
tan L
c0
_
L
c0
(8)
The D
0
attains its maximum value when its rst derivative become zero. Dierentiating
( 8) w.r.t L
c0
and equating the derivative to zero,
dD
0
dL
c0
=
1
1 +
_
r
2
e
r
2
p
tan L
c0
_
2
_
r
2
e
r
2
p
sec
2
L
c0
_
1 = 0

r
2
e
r
2
p
_
1 + tan
2
L
c0
_

_
1 +
r
4
e
r
4
p
tan
2
L
c0
_
= 0

r
2
e
r
2
p
_
1
r
2
e
r
2
p
_
tan
2
L
c0

_
1
r
2
e
r
2
p
_
= 0

r
2
e
r
2
p
tan
2
L
c0
1 = 0 (since r
e
= r
p
)
tan
2
L
c0
=
r
2
p
r
2
e
tan L
c0
=
r
p
r
e
(9)
Substituting values of r
e
and r
p
from WGS84 in ( 8) and ( 9),
L
c0
= tan
1
_
r
p
r
e
_
= 44.9038
0
(10)
(D
0
)
max
=
1
297.7575
rad = 0.192424
0
(11)
Figure 3 shows that D
0
is a small angle with maximum value
1
297.7575
rad that occurs
at L
c0
= 44.9038
0
. The small angle approximation allow us to truncate power series
expansion of sin D
0
and cos D
0
without introducing signicant error.
sin D
0
= D
0
+
1
(12)
The error,
1
, is less than 6.3 10
9
(=D
0max
sin D
0max
), which is negligibly small.
cos D
0
= 1
D
2
0
2
+
2
(13)
5
June 4, 2009 Earth Geometry
Figure 3: Variation of D
0
with L
c0
The error,
2
, is less than 5.310
12
_
= cos D
0max
(1
D
2
0max
2
)
_
, which is again negligibly
small.
2.1.2 Approximate expression for r
Using law of cosines in OQP,
r
2
= r
2
0
+h
2
2r
0
hcos( D
0
)
= r
2
0
+h
2
+ 2r
0
hcos D
0
= (r
0
+h)
2
2r
0
h + 2r
0
hcos D
0
= (r
0
+h)
2
2r
0
h(1 cos D
0
)
= (r
0
+h)
2
_
1
2r
0
h(1 cos D
0
)
(r
0
+h)
2
_
Taking square root,
r = (r
0
+h)
_
1
2r
0
h(1 cos D
0
)
(r
0
+h)
2
_
1/2
(14)
The approximation h r
0

2r
0
h(1cos D
0
)
(r
0
+h)
2
< 1, which allows ( 14) to be expanded in
binomial series,
r = (r
0
+h)
_
1
r
0
h(1 cos D
0
)
(r
0
+h)
2

r
2
0
h
2
(1 cos D
0
)
2
2(r
0
+h)
4

_
(15)
Replacing 1 cos D
0
by D
2
0
/2, ( 13), and neglecting higher order terms,
r = (r
0
+h)
_
1
r
0
hD
2
0
2(r
0
+h)
2

r
2
0
h
2
D
4
0
8(r
0
+h)
4
_
= r
0
+h
r
0
hD
2
0
2(r
0
+h)

r
2
0
h
2
D
4
0
8(r
0
+h)
3
= r
0
+h + (16)
6
June 4, 2009 Earth Geometry
Figure 4: Error in r w.r.t. altitude
attains maximum value when D
0
= D
0max
. Figure 4 shows error in r when it is
approximated to r
0
+ h. r
0
is taken as
r
e
+r
p
2
. It is clear from gure 4 that r can be
approximated to r
0
+h without introducing signicant error.
r = r
0
+h (17)
2.2 The relationship between L
c
and L
Using law of sines in OPR,
sin D
OR
=
sin( L)
OP
(18)
Substituting OR from ( 7) and OP from ( 17),
sin D
x
e0
_
1
r
2
p
r
2
e
_ =
sin L
r

sin L
r
0
+h
sin D =
_
1
r
2
p
r
2
e
_
x
e0
sin L
r
0
+h
(19)
From OQS, x
e0
= r
0
cos L
c0
= r
0
cos(L D
0
) = r
0
(cos Lcos D
0
+ sin Lsin D
0
). Substi-
tuting in ( 19),
sin D =
_
1
r
2
p
r
2
e
_
r
0
(cos Lcos D
0
+ sin Lsin D
0
)
sin L
r
0
+h
=
_
1
r
2
p
r
2
e
_
r
0
r
0
+h
(sin Lcos Lcos D
0
+ sin
2
Lsin D
0
) (20)
At this point, it is better to dene a parameter, e =
r
e
r
p
r
e
, called attening of the earth.
This is a small quantity [5] ), and is very useful in making approximations.
7
June 4, 2009 Earth Geometry
Now,
_
1
r
2
p
r
2
e
_
=
_
1
r
p
r
e
__
1 +
r
p
r
e
_
= e(1 + (1 e)) = e(2 e). Substituting in ( 20),
sin D = e (2 e)
r
0
r
0
+h
1
2
(2 sin Lcos Lcos D
0
+ 2 sin
2
Lsin D
0
)
=
r
0
r
0
+h
e (1 e/2) (sin 2Lcos D
0
+ 2 sin
2
Lsin D
0
) (21)
2.2.1 Expression for D
0
At h = 0, D = D
0
. Substituting these values in ( 21),
sin D
0
= e (1 e/2) (sin 2Lcos D
0
+ 2 sin
2
Lsin D
0
)
sin D
0
_
1 e (1 e/2) 2 sin
2
L
_
= e (1 e/2) sin 2Lcos D
0
tan D
0
_
1 e(1 e/2) 2 sin
2
L
_
= e (1 e/2) sin 2L
tan D
0
=
e (1 e/2) sin 2L
_
1 e (1 e/2) 2 sin
2
L
_
tan D
0
= e sin 2L (1 e/2)
_
1 e (1 e/2) 2 sin
2
L
_
1
(22)
Since D
0
is an small angle, tan D
0
D
0
up to an accuracy of nearly (D
3
0
/3) rad <
{(1/297.7575)
3
/3} rad = 0.0026 arc-sec. Hence ( 22) can be approximated to,
D
0
e sin 2L (1 e/2)
_
1 e (1 e/2) 2 sin
2
L
_
1
(23)
Since, e (1 e/2) 2 sin
2
L < 1 ,
_
1 e (1 e/2) 2 sin
2
L
_
1
can be expanded in binomial
series. Also, e
3
= (1/298.257)
3
= 3.769 10
8
. Hence terms with cubic and higher
powers of e will introduce an error of the order of 3.769 10
8
rad = 0.0078 arc-sec,
which is negligible. Hence, terms with cubic and higher order of e can be neglected
without introducing signicant errors.
D
0
= e sin 2L (1 e/2)
_
1 +e (1 e/2) 2 sin
2
L +
+ terms with quadratic and higher powers in e ]
= e sin 2L(1 e/2)
_
1 + 2e sin
2
L +

= e sin 2L
_
1 + 2e sin
2
L e/2 +

= e sin 2L +e
2
sin 2L
_
2 sin
2
L
1
2
_
+
= e sin 2L +
Thus, D
0
can be approximated to e sin 2L. The exact expression for D
0
is given in ( 22).
The error in D
0
when it is approximated to e sin 2L is given by,
= D
0
e sin 2L
= tan
1
_
sin 2L
_
e e
2
/2
_ _
1
_
2e e
2
_
sin
2
L
_
1
_
e sin 2L (24)
Figure 5 shows that maximum value of is 2.045 arc-sec. Thus D
0
can be approximated
to e sin 2L upto an accuracy of 2.045 arc-sec.
D
0
= e sin 2L (25)
8
June 4, 2009 Earth Geometry
Figure 5: Error in D
0
w.r.t. L
2.2.2 Expression for D
Since D
0
is small angle, cos D
0
1 and sin D
0
D
0
e sin 2L. With these approxima-
tions ( 21) can be written as,
sin D =
r
0
r
0
+h
e (1 e/2)
_
sin 2L + 2 sin
2
L e sin 2L
_
+
=
r
0
r
0
+h
e sin 2L (1 e/2) (1 + 2e sin
2
L) +
= e sin 2L
1
1 +h/r
0
(1 e/2) (1 + 2e sin
2
L) +
= e sin 2L (1 +h/r
0
)
1
(1 e/2) (1 + 2e sin
2
L) +
= e sin 2L (1 h/r
0
) (1 e/2) (1 + 2e sin
2
L) +
(since h r
0
)
= e sin 2L (1 e/2 h/r
0
+eh/2r
0
) (1 + 2e sin
2
L) +
= e sin 2L (1 e/2 h/r
0
)
_
1 + 2e sin
2
L
_
+
(since h r
0
and e 1)
= e sin 2L
_
1 e/2 h/r
0
+ 2e sin
2
L
_
+
= e sin 2L +e sin 2L (e/2 h/r
0
+e(1 cos 2L)) +
= e sin 2L +e sin 2L (e/2 h/r
0
e cos 2L) +
= e sin 2L +
9
June 4, 2009 Earth Geometry
where,
= D e sin 2L
= sin
1
_
r
0
r
0
+h
e sin 2L(1 e/2)(1 + 2e sin
2
L)
_
e sin 2L
e sin 2L (e/2 h/r
0
e cos 2L)

_
e
2
/2 eh/r
0
_
sin 2L e
2
/4 2 sin 2L cos 2L

_
e
2
/2 eh/r
0
_
sin 2L e
2
/4 sin 4L
The variation of with L for h=0,10km,50km,and 100km is shown in gure 6. r
0
is taken
as
r
e
+r
p
2
. The gure shows that < 2 arc-sec for h 10 km. Thus D can be approximated
to e sin 2L upto an accuracy of 2 arc-sec if h 10 km. Hence,
Figure 6: Error in D
D = e sin 2L (26)
L L
c
= e sin 2L
L
c
= L e sin 2L
( 26) gives relation between geodetic and geocentric latitude. However it shall be kept in
mind that this relation may have an error upto 2 arc-sec. This error may be signicant
because 1 arc-sec error in latitude results in 31m (= 6378137 /180 3600) position
error on earth surface.
2.3 The relationship between r
0
and L
The point Q(x
e0
, x
p0
) lies on the ellipse and hence it satises the ellipse equation,
x
2
e0
r
2
e
+
x
2
p0
r
2
p
= 1 (27)
10
June 4, 2009 Earth Geometry
From OQS, x
e0
= r
0
cos L
c0
and x
p0
= r
0
sin L
c0
. Substituting in ( 27),
r
2
0
cos
2
L
c0
r
2
e
+
r
2
0
sin
2
L
c0
r
2
p
= 1 (28)

r
2
0
r
2
p
_
r
2
p
r
2
e
cos
2
L
c0
+ sin
2
L
c0
_
= 1

r
2
0
r
2
p
_
r
2
p
r
2
e
cos
2
L
c0
+ (1 cos
2
L
c0
)
_
= 1

r
2
0
r
2
p
_
1
_
1
r
2
p
r
2
e
_
cos
2
L
c0
)
_
= 1
r
2
0
=
r
2
p
_
1
_
1
r
2
p
r
2
e
_
cos
2
L
c0
_
Taking square root,
r
0
= r
p
_
1
_
1
r
2
p
r
2
e
_
cos
2
L
c0
_
1/2
(29)
Now, e =
r
e
r
p
r
e
, r
p
= r
e
(1 e). Substituting r
p
in ( 29),
r
0
= r
e
(1 e)
_
1
_
1 (1 e)
2
_
cos
2
L
c0
_
1/2
= r
e
(1 e)
_
1 e(2 e) cos
2
L
c0
_
1/2
Since, (1 (1 e)
2
) cos
2
L
c0
< 1 , ( 29) can be expanded in binomial series. In the
binomial series, contribution of the terms with cubic and higher powers of e will be
negligible because e
3
r
e
0.24 m, a negligibly small quantity.
r
0
= r
e
(1 e)
_
1 +
1
2
e(2 e) cos
2
L
c0
+
3
8
e
2
(2 e)
2
cos
4
L
c0
_
= r
e
(1 e)
_
1 +
1
2
(2e e
2
) cos
2
L
c0
+
3
8
e
2
4 cos
4
L
c0
_
= r
e
(1 e)
_
1 +e cos
2
L
c0
+
e
2
2
(cos
2
L
c0
+ 3 cos
4
L
c0
)
_
= r
e
_
1 +e cos
2
L
c0
+
e
2
2
(cos
2
L
c0
+ 3 cos
4
L
c0
) e e
2
cos
2
L
c0
_
= r
e
_
1 e +e cos
2
L
c0
+
3
2
e
2
(cos
2
L
c0
+ cos
4
L
c0
)
_
(30)
11
June 4, 2009 Earth Geometry
Now,
cos
2
L
c0
=
1
2
(1 + cos 2L
c0
)
=
1
2
(1 + cos(2L 2D
0
) ) (since L
c0
= L D
0
)
=
1
2
(1 + cos 2Lcos 2D
0
+ sin 2Lsin 2D
0
)
=
1
2
(1 + cos 2L + sin 2L 2e sin 2L)
(since cos 2D
0
1 and sin 2D
0
2D
0
= 2e sin 2L)
=
1
2
(1 + cos 2L +e(1 cos 4L) )
Substituting in ( 30),
r
0
= r
e
_
1 e +e/2 (1 + cos 2L +e(1 cos 4L) )
+
3
8
e
2
_
2 (1 + cos 2L +e(1 cos 4L) )
+
_
1 + cos 2L +e
_
1 cos 4L)
_
2
__
_
= r
e
_
1 e +e/2 +e/2 cos 2L +e
2
/8
_
4 4 cos 4L
6 6 cos 2L + 3 (1 + cos 2L)
2
_
_
= r
e
_
1 e/2 (1 cos 2L) +e
2
/8
_
4 4 cos 4L
6 6 cos 2L + 3 + 3 cos
2
2L + 6 cos 2L
_
_
= r
e
_
1 e sin
2
L +e
2
/8
_
1 4 cos 4L + 3/2 (1 + cos 4L)
_
_
= r
e
(1 e sin
2
L) +
5
16
r
e
e
2
(1 cos 4L)
= r
e
(1 e sin
2
L) + (31)
Where,
=
5
16
r
e
e
2
(1 cos 4L)
Figure 7 shows that maximum error in r
0
when it is approximated to r
e
(1 e sin
2
L) is
45 m which occurs at L=45
0
.
12
June 4, 2009 Earth Geometry
Figure 7: Error in r
3 Position and Velocity Initialization
The position (

P) and velocity (

V ) at point with geodetic latitude (L), longitude () and

altitude (h) are initialized by,
r = r
e
(1 e sin
2
L) +h (32)
L
c
= L e sin 2L (33)

P = (r cos L
c
cos , r cos L
c
sin , r sin L
c
) (34)

V = (r cos L
c
sin , r cos L
c
cos , 0.0) (35)
Where, r is length of position vector, r
e
, r
p
are semi major and semi minor axis of
reference ellipsoid, e =
r
e
r
p
r
e
is attening, L
c
is geocentric latitude and is earth rotation
rate.
4 World Geodetic System, 1984
4.1 WGS84 Coordinate System
The WGS84 Coordinate System is a right handed, Earth xed orthogonal coordinate
system with:
Origin: Earths centre of mass.
Z-Axis: The direction of IERS (International Earth Rotation Service) Reference
Pole (epoch 1984.0).
X-Axis: Intersection of IERS Reference Meridian and the plane passing through the
origin and normal to the Z-axis (epoch 1984.0).
Y-Axis: Completes a right handed, ECEF orthogonal coordinate system.
13
June 4, 2009 Earth Geometry
The WGS84 Coordinate System origin also serves as the geometric center of the WGS84
reference ellipsoid and Z-axis serves as the rotational axis of this ellipsoid of revolution.
4.2 WGS84 Ellipsoid
The WGS84 ellipsoid is the mathematical surface with its geometrical center located on
center of mass of the earth. The ellipsoid is constructed by revolving an ellipse about
Z-axis of WGS84 coordinate system. Semi-major axis of the ellipse is r
e
and semi-minor
axis is r
p
.
The four dening parameters of WGS84 are given in Table 1. Earths gravitational con-
stant includes the mass of earth atmosphere.
Parameter Notation Value
Semi-major axis r
e
6378137.0 m
Reciprocal of attening 1/e 298.257223563
Angular Velocity of Earth 7292115 10
11
rad/s
Earth Gravitational Constant 3986004.418 10
8
m
3
/s
2
Table 1: Dening parameters of WGS84
References
[1] Britting K.R., Inertial Navigation System Analysis, Wiley Interscience, Newyork,
1971.
[2] Titterton D.H. and Weston J.L., Strapdown Inertial Navigation Technology, Peter
Peregrinus Ltd., London, 1997.
[3] Regan F. J., Re-Entry Vehicle Dynamics, AIAA Education Series, 1984.
[4] Kreyszig E., Advanced Engineering Mathematics, Wiley Eastern, 5th Ed., 1983.
[5] National Imagery and Mapping Agency Technical Report 8350.2,World Geodetic Sys-
tem 1984: Its Denition and Relationship with Local Geodetic Systems, Department
of Defense, USA, 3rd ed., 2000.
14
June 4, 2009 Earth Geometry
A A5 Navigation: Position-Velocity initialization with-
out approximations
A.1 Derivation
At present, the position (

P) and velocity (

V ) are initialized by,

r = r
e
(1 e sin
2
L) +h (1)
L
c
= L e sin 2L (2)

P = (r cos L
c
cos , r cos L
c
sin , r sin L
c
) (3)

V = (r cos L
c
sin , r cos L
c
cos , 0.0) (4)
Where, r is length of position vector, r
e
, r
p
are semi major and semi minor axis of reference
ellipsoid, e =
r
e
r
p
r
e
is atness, L is geodetic latitude of point of interest, L
c
is geocentric
latitude, h is altitude, is longitude and is earth rotation rate. The (1) and (2) are
based on approximations (details of these approximations are covered in this document)
and hence

P and

V are erroneous. P(x
e
, x
p
) is point of interest and Q(x
e0
, x
p0
) is point
on ellipse s.t. P-Q is normal to ellipse,
x
2
e0
r
2
e
+
x
2
p0
r
2
p
= 1 (5)
The slope of normal is tan L,
tan L =
1
_
dx
p
dx
e
_
x
e0
,x
p0
=
x
p0
r
2
e
x
e0
r
2
p
(6)
Solving (5) and (6),
x
e0
=
r
e
_
1 +
r
2
p
r
2
e
tan
2
L
(7)
x
p0
=
r
2
p
r
e
tan L
_
1 +
r
2
p
r
2
e
tan
2
L
(8)
The coordinate of P(x
e
, x
p
) are,
x
e
= x
e0
+hcos L (9)
x
p
= x
p0
+hsin L (10)
Exact ( r), (

L
c
),

P and

V are given by,

r =
_
x
2
e
+x
2
p
(11)

L
c
= tan
1
_
x
p
x
e
_
(12)

P = ( r cos

L
c
cos , r cos

L
c
sin , r sin

L
c
) (13)

V = ( r cos

L
c
sin , r cos

L
c
cos , 0.0) (14)
15
June 4, 2009 Earth Geometry
A.2 Results
Figure 8: Dierence between present and proposed initialization (h=0 km)
The dierence between present and proposed initialization is given in gure 8. The gure
shows that magnitude of position error can be as high as 70 m. This error is resolved
in equatorial coordinates (X-Y) and polar coordinate (Z). The equatorial error is further
resolved in X and Y depending on longitude. The velocity error is in equatorial plane
with a maximum value of 5 10
3
m/s. This error is small and can cause a position
error of V t = 5 10
3
1000 = 5 m for a ight time of 1000 s. The order of these
errors remains same upto h = 10 km.
A.3 Implementation
The approximations in initial position and velocity can be easily done away if we use
equations derived above. These can be easily implemented by using trigonometric and
square root functions which are generally dened in math library. The implementation
shall ensure non-occurrence of certain conditions, L = 90, divide by zero and negative
argument for square root function, or smooth execution of code even if these conditions
occur.
16