diff --git a/include/tudat/astro/observation_models/observationSimulator.h b/include/tudat/astro/observation_models/observationSimulator.h
index b0bde5172..6f676b782 100644
--- a/include/tudat/astro/observation_models/observationSimulator.h
+++ b/include/tudat/astro/observation_models/observationSimulator.h
@@ -117,13 +117,13 @@ class ObservationSimulator: public ObservationSimulatorBase< ObservationScalarTy
     std::shared_ptr< ObservationModel< ObservationSize, ObservationScalarType, TimeType > > getObservationModel(
             const LinkEnds linkEnds )
     {
-        try
+        if( observationModels_.count( linkEnds ) == 0 )
         {
-            return observationModels_.at( linkEnds );
+            throw std::runtime_error( "Error in observation manager when getting observation model, did not find model for given link ends: " + getLinkEndsString( linkEnds ) );
         }
-        catch( const std::runtime_error& )
+        else
         {
-            throw std::runtime_error( "Error in observation manager when getting observation model, did not find model for given link ends " );
+            return observationModels_.at( linkEnds );
         }
     }