Systems and methods are provided for orienting an antenna in a communications system on a mobile platform to orient a peak of the antenna pattern in a direction associated with a signal source. A signal from a signal source is received at the antenna. A signal strength is measured from the received signal. A signal strength and a misalignment of the antenna along at least one axis are predicted according to a previous estimate of the signal strength, a previous estimate of the misalignment of the antenna, an estimated change in the signal strength, and a known change in the antenna orientation. The predicted signal strength and misalignment of the antenna are updated according to the measured signal strength to provide an estimate of a current misalignment of the antenna. The orientation of the peak of the antenna pattern is adjusted according to the estimated current misalignment of the antenna.