Cross-wind from linear and angular satellite dynamics: The GOCE perspective on horizontal and vertical wind in the thermosphere

The decay of satellite orbits has been used extensively to obtain thermospheric density measurements. With the introduction of accelerometers in spacecraft, the spatial resolution of these data could be increased. At the same time, the direction of the measured acceleration provides a measure for the direction of the incoming flow, and therefore of the local cross-wind. In this thesis, the angular acceleration of the Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE) satellite, an Earth explorer by the European Space Agency (ESA), is used as a source for such thermospheric wind data for the first time. The goal is to improve aerodynamic parameter estimates and assess the quality of accelerometer-derived wind data by comparing this new data set to that derived from linear accelerations...