
Assessing Performance Characteristics of the SGP4-XP Propagation Algorithm
In 2020 the United States Space Force (USSF) released an implementation of the SGP4-XP propagator, an advanced version of the existing SGP4 propagator stated to deliver accuracy roughly equivalent to that of the USSF’s Special Perturbations Ephemeris propagator (SPEPH) with runtimes only 50% to 100% longer than SGP4. This paper presents an analysis of the performance characteristics of the SGP4-XP propagation algorithm and considers new and existing practical applications where it can be used more effectively than SGP4.
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