Dual attitude and parameter estimation of passively magnetically stabilized nano satellites

The attitude determination capability of a nano satellite is limited by a lack of traditional high performance attitude sensors, a result of having small budgets for mass and power. Attitude determination can still be performed on a nano satellite with low fidelity sensors, but an accurate model of the spacecraft attitude dynamics is required. The passive magnetic stabilization systems commonly employed in nano satellites are known to introduce uncertainties in the parameters of the attitude dynamics model that cannot easily be resolved prior to launch. In this paper, a batch estimation problem is formulated that simultaneously solves for the attitude of the spacecraft and performs parameter estimation on the magnetic properties of the magnetic materials using only a measurement of the solar vector. The estimation technique is applied to data from NASA Ames Research Center's O/OREOS nano satellite and the University of Michigan's RAX-1 nano satellite, where clear differences are detected between the magnetic properties as measured before launch and those that fit the observed data. To date this is the first known on-orbit verification of the attitude dynamics model of a passively magnetically stabilized spacecraft.     

A simplified approach to uncertainty quantification for orbits in impulsive deflection scenarios

For the majority of near-Earth Asteroid (NEA) impact scenarios, optimal deflection strategies use a massive impactor or a nuclear explosive, either of which produce an impulsive change to the orbit of the object. However, uncertainties regarding the object composition and the efficiency of the deflection event lead to a non-negligible uncertainty in the deflection delta-velocity. Propagating this uncertainty through the resulting orbit will create a positional uncertainty envelope at the original impact epoch. We calculate a simplified analytic evolution for impulsively deflected NEAs and perform a full propagation of uncertainties that is nonlinear in the deflection delta-velocity vector. This provides an understanding of both the optimal deflection velocities needed for a given scenario, as well as the resulting positional uncertainty and corresponding residual impact probability. Confidence of a successful deflection attempt as a function of launch opportunities is also discussed for a specific case.     

DPOD2014: A new DORIS extension of ITRF2014 for precise orbit determination

To support precise orbit determination of the altimetry missions, the International DORIS Service (IDS) regularly estimates the DPOD (DORIS terrestrial reference frame for Precise Orbit Determination) solution which includes mean positions and velocities of all the DORIS stations. This solution is aligned to the current realization of the International Terrestrial Reference Frame (ITRF) and so, can be seen as a DORIS extension of the ITRF. In 2016, moving to the IDS Combination Center, the DPOD construction scheme changed. The new DPOD solution is produced from a DORIS cumulative position and velocity solution. We present the new methodology used to compute DPOD2014 and its validation procedure. In order to present geophysical applications and interpretations of these results, we show two examples: (1) the Gorkha earthquake (M7.8 – April 2015) generates a 3-D mis-positioning of nearly 55?mm of the EVEB DORIS station at the Everest base camp 90?km from the epicenter. (2) Applying the results the DPOD2014 realization, we show that the most recent vertical velocity of Thule, Greenland is similar to that observed between 2006 and 2010, indicating further ongoing ice mass loss in the Thule region of northwest Greenland.     

LEO enhanced Global Navigation Satellite System (LeGNSS) for real-time precise positioning services

Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) has been widely used in many geosciences areas with its Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) service. However, GNSS still has its own bottleneck, such as the long initialization period of Precise Point Positioning (PPP) without dense reference network. Recently, the concept of PNTRC (Positioning, Navigation, Timing, Remote sensing and Communication) has been put forward, where Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite constellations are recruited to fulfill diverse missions. In navigation aspect, a number of selected LEO satellites can be equipped with a transmitter to transmit similar navigation signals to ground users, so that they can serve as GNSS satellites but with much faster geometric change to enhance GNSS capability, which is named as LEO constellation enhanced GNSS (LeGNSS). As a result, the initialization time of PPP is expected to be shortened to the level of a few minutes or even seconds depending on the number of the LEO satellites involved. In this article, we simulate all the relevant data from June 8th to 14th, 2014 and investigate the feasibility of LeGNSS with the concentration on the key issues in the whole data processing for providing real-time PPP service based on a system configuration with fourteen satellites of BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS), twenty-four satellites of the Global Positioning System (GPS), and sixty-six satellites of the Iridium satellite constellations. At the server-end, Precise Orbit Determination (POD) and Precise Clock Estimation (PCE) with various operational modes are investigated using simulated observations. It is found out that GNSS POD with partial LEO satellites is the most practical mode of LeGNSS operation. At the user-end, the Geometry Dilution Of Precision (GDOP) and Signal-In-Space Ranging Error (SISRE) are calculated and assessed for different positioning schemes in order to demonstrate the performance of LeGNSS. Centimeter level SISRE can be achieved for LeGNSS.     

Time-varying solar radiation pressure on Ajisai in comparison with LAGEOS satellites

This study aims to investigate solar radiation pressure acting on the spherical geodetic satellites, Ajisai, LAGEOS-1, and LAGEOS-2. The solar radiation pressure coefficients ($C_R$) are derived in two independent ways: (a) through precise orbit determination (POD) using satellite laser ranging (SLR) data, and (b) through modeling using the optical properties of the satellite surface material. The average $C_R$ value of Ajisai (1.039), as calculated from the time series of $C_R$ POD estimates every 15?days, is consistently smaller than those of LAGEOS-1 (1.140) and LAGEOS-2 (1.103). This difference can be explained by the fact that the surface of Ajisai is mostly covered by mirrors. The Ajisai $C_R$ values estimated by POD show remarkable semi-annual variation, which disagrees with the results of a previous study (Sengoku et al., 1995) predicting that the $C_R$ of Ajisai varies almost annually. We attribute this semi-annual variation to two physical reasons: the non-spherical additional cross-sectional area due to the “attached fitting ring” and the low reflectivity of the surface material in the polar regions. Furthermore, the solar radiation pressure acting on Ajisai varies annually in a direction perpendicular to the sun-satellite vector. Finally, the two independent $C_R$ values of Ajisai agree more when we assume a total solar irradiance of 1361?W/m², whereas the value 1367?W/m² has been commonly used in POD.     

双站跟踪模式下“嫦娥4号”中继星定轨仿真分析

位于地月平动点的探测器因为较差的观测几何,需要地基USB/UXB与天文VLBI长时间的联合跟踪数据获取稳定精确的轨道。提出了利用中国深空网双站共视跟踪平动点探测器,获取双程、三程测距及VLBI测量数据,解算探测器精确轨道的模式。以"鹊桥"卫星为分析对象,首先评估中国深空网对"鹊桥"的跟踪能力。然后分析不同观测组合模式下的定轨计算精度。结果表明:双站共视约束下,深空站每天对"鹊桥"跟踪弧长大于5 h;使用长于6 h的双站跟踪数据进行定轨,系统差的解算更有利于轨道精度提升;跟踪时长超过2天时,必须在轨道解算的同时估计光压系数,并有望实现优于百米的轨道精度。     

动基座下自调平台对方位角测量的影响分析

自调平台通过光电传感器敏感基座二维姿态的变化,根据基座姿态角的变化量,通过执行器件对框架进行回调,使工作台面处于水平状态。自调平台能够为动基座下的测量仪器提供水平基准,为这类测量仪器在动基座环境下的正常使用提供了可能,例如经纬仪类仪器在船上的应用。通过对自调平台调平过程的分析发现,在调平过程中,基座上被测目标与调平工作面之间存在一定的方位偏转,该偏转直接影响到测量结果,属于测量误差。分析出影响方位偏转量的各个参数,并分别对各参数的影响程度进行了阐述。最后,根据分析结果给出使用自调平台的注意事项。     

基于足部安装MIMU的行人导航系统设计

针对无卫星环境中行人导航定位需求,设计了一种基于足部安装MIMU的行人导航系统,重点研究了行人导航鞋传感器选型及样机设计流程;并在此基础上设计了基于零速修正和航向修正的行人导航算法,研究了零速区间内最优航向角的提取方法,实现了对瞬时磁干扰产生的磁航向角的有效判断。最后,利用设计的行人导航系统开展了三维空间航迹测试实验,实验结果表明,在不增加高度约束的条件下,该行人导航系统定位精度为0.33%,能够满足坡路环境中行人的定位需求。     

修正容积卡尔曼滤波数据域直接定位算法

为解决数据域直接定位（DPD）算法面临的计算压力,提高算法效率,提出一种基于修正的容积卡尔曼滤波（MCKF）的DPD算法。首先,融合各观测信号波达方向信息,利用子空间数据融合方法建立一种基于间接观测量的DPD滤波模型;然后,根据模型特点设计MCKF算法进行求解,解决间接观测量带来的噪声累积问题;最后,对算法计算量进行分析和对比,说明计算效率的提升。仿真结果表明,所提算法与基于最大似然遍历搜索和遗传算法的DPD算法相比,在相同的估计性能下,计算量下降明显,时效性显著提升,增加了算法实用价值。     

一种成像敏感器对月定姿算法

成像敏感器根据月像来确定卫星对月姿态角。分析了月球光学系统成像模型以及卫星两轴姿态角与月像边缘曲线方程的关系，利用分析结果并结合月像边缘点的曲线拟合提出了一种新的卫星对月定向姿态确定方法。此算法克服了非零姿态月像边缘的非圆现象并且在部分月像下也可完成姿态确定，仿真工作显示了新算法的有效性。