DOUBLE ASTEROID REDIRECTION TEST (DART) MISSION: PROCESSING, ANALYSIS, AND MODELING OF THE REACTION CONTROL SYSTEM THRUSTER DELTA-V FOR ORBIT DETERMINATION

The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft impacted the asteroid (65803) Dimorphos on September 26, 2022. Three axis attitude control was provided exclusively by hydrazine thrusters. The attitude thrusting was nominally balanced over time but unbalanced at times. This work describes the new tools to access, process, and model telemetry for navigation analysis. Methods used to handle attitude control deadbanding during final approach are compared to show the effects of various model implementation. Findings detailed include that use of the pandas Python library enabled significant analysis of relevant telemetry for Orbit Determination, limitations to estimating attitude control thrusting events, and the selection of modeling these events for navigating asteroid impact.