Object Correlation and Maneuver Detection Using Optimal Control Performance Metrics

Object correlation and maneuver detection are persistent problems in space surveillance and space object catalog maintenance. This paper demonstrates the utility of using quadratic trajectory control cost, an analog to the trajectory L2-norm in control, as a distance metric with which to both correlate object tracks and detect maneuvers using Uncorrelated Tracks (UCTs), real-time sensor measurement residuals, and prior state uncertainty. State and measurement uncertainty are incorporated into the computation, and distributions of optimal control usage are computed. Both UCT correlation as well as maneuver detection are demonstrated in several scenarios Potential avenues for future research and contributions are summarized.