Evaluation of the Shuttle orbit control accuracy during the SIR-C/X-SAR mission

During the operational phase of the SIR-C/X-SAR mission (Shuttle flights STS59 and STS-68) the constraints on the scientific activity required precision on orbit determination and control exceeding by far the official Shuttle specifications. This paper describes a postflight orbit analysis and the work performed by the Shuttle navigators and by the SIR-C/X-SAR mission operation teams at the Mission Control Center which allowed the achievement of the missions scientific objectives well beyond the most optimistic forecasts.