Non-gravitational force measurement and correction by a precision inertial sensor of TianQin-1 satellite

Abstract Non-gravitational force models are critical not only for the applications of satellite orbit determination and prediction, but also for the studies of gravitational reference sensors in space-based gravitational wave detection missions and accelerometers in gravity satellite missions. In this paper, based on the inertial sensor data from the TianQin-1 (TQ-1) mission, a correction has been made in the non-gravitational force models by applying additional terms related to the orbital periods. After taking into account this correction, about 37 hours of TQ-1 inertial sensor data is calibrated in the sensitive axes, i.e. y - and z -axes, by comparing with the simulated non-gravitational accelerations. It is indicated that the peak-to-peak value of the non-gravitational acceleration correction terms are about 2% and 13% of the measured accelerations in the y - and z -axes, respectively. Within the frequency band below 0.01 Hz, the root mean square of calibration residual errors in y - and z -axes are suppressed from 1.03 × 10 −9 and 3.872 × 10 −9 m s −2 to 8.14 × 10 −10 and 1.343 × 10 −9 m s −2 , respectively. The bias and scale factor of the inertial sensor are also obtained from the calibration by the method of least-squares fit. Meanwhile, the inertial sensor measurements are validated and their signal compositions are analyzed.