This thesis demonstrates that any individual can provide relevant observational data to further research efforts within the Aerospace community, through the use of amateur telescopes. A Meade LX200 12 in. telescope and Lumenera Skynyx 2.0 camera were utilized to observe small LEO satellites, using a well-documented point-and-wait staring method. Over a period of three months, a total of 186 observation attempts were made resulting in 97 successful captures. From the gathered data, three possible aerospace applications were analyzed: validation of a satellite brightness prediction model, angles-only orbit determination including extended Kalman filtering, and temporal error growth in TLE-based orbit propagation. Further investigations include a preliminary optimization using MATLAB's fmincon function (informed by the previous analyses) to determine an optimal telescope size for performing LEO observations.
","abstract_html":"<p>This thesis demonstrates that any individual can provide relevant observational data to further research efforts within the Aerospace community, through the use of amateur telescopes. A Meade LX200 12 in. telescope and Lumenera Skynyx 2.0 camera were utilized to observe small LEO satellites, using a well-documented point-and-wait staring method. Over a period of three months, a total of 186 observation attempts were made resulting in 97 successful captures. From the gathered data, three possible aerospace applications were analyzed: validation of a satellite brightness prediction model, angles-only orbit determination including extended Kalman filtering, and temporal error growth in TLE-based orbit propagation. Further investigations include a preliminary optimization using MATLAB's fmincon function (informed by the previous analyses) to determine an optimal telescope size for performing LEO observations.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Schmalzel, Brock"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"MS in Aerospace Engineering","degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":"Aerospace Engineering","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Kira Abercromby"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2013,"date_issued":"2013-08-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2013-08-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:31:28Z","subjects":["Astrometry","Photometry","Orbit Determination","Extended Kalman Filter","Other Aerospace Engineering"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["10.15368/theses.2013.158"],"render_values":[{"text":"10.15368/theses.2013.158","href":"https://doi.org/10.15368/theses.2013.158","code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/theses/1068","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Kira Abercromby"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Schmalzel, Brock"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2013-08-29T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Aerospace Engineering"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["MS in Aerospace Engineering"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Astrometry","Photometry","Orbit Determination","Extended Kalman Filter","Other Aerospace Engineering"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/theses/1068","10.15368/theses.2013.158"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This thesis demonstrates that any individual can provide relevant observational data to further research efforts within the Aerospace community, through the use of amateur telescopes. A Meade LX200 12 in. telescope and Lumenera Skynyx 2.0 camera were utilized to observe small LEO satellites, using a well-documented point-and-wait staring method. Over a period of three months, a total of 186 observation attempts were made resulting in 97 successful captures. From the gathered data, three possible aerospace applications were analyzed: validation of a satellite brightness prediction model, angles-only orbit determination including extended Kalman filtering, and temporal error growth in TLE-based orbit propagation. Further investigations include a preliminary optimization using MATLAB's fmincon function (informed by the previous analyses) to determine an optimal telescope size for performing LEO observations.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Feasibility and Application of Observing Small LEO Satellites with Amateur Telescopes"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Kira Abercromby"],"dc:creator":["Schmalzel, Brock"],"dc:date.available":["2013-08-29T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This thesis demonstrates that any individual can provide relevant observational data to further research efforts within the Aerospace community, through the use of amateur telescopes. A Meade LX200 12 in. telescope and Lumenera Skynyx 2.0 camera were utilized to observe small LEO satellites, using a well-documented point-and-wait staring method. Over a period of three months, a total of 186 observation attempts were made resulting in 97 successful captures. From the gathered data, three possible aerospace applications were analyzed: validation of a satellite brightness prediction model, angles-only orbit determination including extended Kalman filtering, and temporal error growth in TLE-based orbit propagation. Further investigations include a preliminary optimization using MATLAB's fmincon function (informed by the previous analyses) to determine an optimal telescope size for performing LEO observations.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/theses/1068","10.15368/theses.2013.158"],"dc:subject":["Astrometry","Photometry","Orbit Determination","Extended Kalman Filter","Other Aerospace Engineering"],"dc:title":["The Feasibility and Application of Observing Small LEO Satellites with Amateur Telescopes"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Aerospace Engineering"],"thesis:degree_name":["MS in Aerospace Engineering"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:31:28Z"}