The optical wide-field patrol network (OWL-Net) is a Korean optical surveillance system that tracks and monitors domestic satellites. In this study, a batch least squares algorithm was developed for optical measurements and verified by Monte Carlo simulation and covariance analysis. Potential error sources of OWL-Net, such as noise, bias, and clock errors, were analyzed. There is a linear relation between the estimation accuracy and the noise level, and the accuracy significantly depends on the declination bias. In addition, the time-tagging error significantly degrades the observation accuracy, while the time-synchronization offset corresponds to the orbital motion. The Cartesian state vector and measurement bias were determined using the OWL-Net tracking data of the KOMPSAT-1 and Cryosat-2 satellites. The comparison with known orbital information based on two-line elements (TLE) and the consolidated prediction format (CPF) shows that the orbit determination accuracy is similar to that of TLE. Furthermore, the precision and accuracy of OWL-Net observation data were determined to be tens of arcsec and sub-degree level, respectively.

• Eunji Lee(Department of Astronomy, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Korea)
• Sang-Young Park(Department of Astronomy, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Korea) Corresponding Author
• Bumjoon Shin(Department of Astronomy, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Korea)
• Sungki Cho(Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, Daejeon 34055, Korea)
• Eun-Jung Choi(Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, Daejeon 34055, Korea)
• Junghyun Jo(Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, Daejeon 34055, Korea)
• Jang-Hyun Park(Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, Daejeon 34055, Korea)