Abstract
Highly accurate force models have been developed to achieve the very accurate orbit determination required for the French-American oceanographic mission TOPEX/Poseidon. However, these models are still not accurate enough to explain all of the signatures observed in the Doppler orbitography and radiopositioning integrated by satellite (DORIS) and satellite laser ranging residuals. The excellent orbital coverage and the high quality of the data make it possible to evaluate the level of the error in the dynamical models. To extract this information, an improved filter-smoother method has been implemented. It combines a least-squares approach, in the Givens square root formulation, with stochastic parameters. This filter is used to compute the amplitude of an empirical stochastic force. This fictitious force has been evaluated as part of an orbit determination process over several cycles. Its amplitude is at the level of 10~9 m/s2.
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