Pattern recognition of star constellations for spacecraftapplications

A software system for a star imager for online satellite attitude determination is described. The system works with a single standard commercial CCD camera with a high aperture lens and an onboard star catalog. It is capable of both an initial coarse attitude determination without any prior knowledge of the satellite orientation and a high-accuracy attitude determination based on prediction and averaging of several identified star constellations. In the high-accuracy mode the star image aims at an accuracy better than 2 arc sec with a processing time of less than a few seconds. The star imager has been developed for the Danish Oersted satellite     

Linearization errorʼs measure and its influence on the accuracy of MEKF based attitude determination method

Multiplicative Extended Kalman Filter (MEKF) is one of the most widely used satellite attitude estimation methods. However, the linearization error?s influence is an inherent limitation of this method. In this paper, we aim to analyze this linearization error in the typical satellite attitude determination system with star sensors and gyros. The formulation of linearization error is first derived and the curvature metric is then employed to measure the linearization error. Additionally, we show the reason why linearization error has influence on the performance of MEKF. Based on these analyses, we point out that star sensors? sampling frequency, initial estimated error and accuracy of gyro?s measurement model are the factors that could enlarge the system model?s linearization error. They all affect the linearization error and attitude determination accuracy by decreasing the predicted accuracy. More concretely, the influence of star sensor?s sampling frequency is large, while initial estimated error and gyro?s measurement error within a certain range have little influence on MEKF. Finally, combined with plenty of experiments, validity of the above analyses is verified.     

A view finder control system for an earth observation satellite

A real time TV view finder is used on-board a low earth orbiting (LEO) satellite to manually select targets for imaging from a ground station within the communication footprint of the satellite. The attitude control system on the satellite is used to steer the satellite using commands from the groundstation and a television camera onboard the satellite will then downlink a television signal in real time to a monitor screen in the ground station. The operator in the feedback loop will be able to manually steer the boresight of the satellite's main imager towards interested target areas e.g. to avoid clouds or correct for any attitude pointing errors. Due to a substantial delay (in the order of a second) in the view finding feedback loop and the narrow field of view of the main imager, the operator has to be assisted by the onboard attitude control system to stabilise and track the target area visible on the monitor screen.This paper will present an extended Kalman filter used to estimate the satellite's attitude angles using quaternions and the bias vector component of the 3-axis inertial rate sensors (gyros). Absolute attitude sensors (i.e. sun, horizon and magnetic) are used to supply the measurement vectors to correct the filter states during the view finder manoeuvres. The target tracking and rate steering reaction wheel controllers to accurately point and with high agility stabilise the satellite, will be presented. The controller reference generator for the satellite-to-target attitude and rate vectors, as used by the reaction wheel controllers, will be derived.     

Low-frequency Periodic Error Identification and Compensation for Star Tracker Attitude Measurement

The low-frequency periodic error of star tracker is one of the most critical problems for high-accuracy satellite attitude determination.In this paper an approach is proposed to identify and compensate the low-frequency periodic error for star tracker in attitude measurement.The analytical expression between the estimated gyro drift and the low-frequency periodic error of star tracker is derived firstly.And then the low-frequency periodic error,which can be expressed by Fourier series,is identified by the frequency spectrum of the estimated gyro drift according to the solution of the first step.Furthermore,the compensated model of the low-frequency periodic error is established based on the identified parameters to improve the attitude determination accuracy.Finally,promising simulated experimental results demonstrate the validity and effectiveness of the proposed method.The periodic error for attitude determination is eliminated basically and the estimation precision is improved greatly.     

仅用星敏感器的卫星姿态估计UKF算法研究

针对无陀螺或陀螺失效等情况下的卫星姿态确定问题,应用基于Unscented变换的Unscented滤波理论,提出了仅利用星敏感器矢量观测信息来确定无陀螺卫星姿态的Unscented卡尔曼滤波算法,并进行了数学仿真,仿真结果表明了所提出的UKF算法在无陀螺情况下对卫星姿态估计的有效性和可靠性。     

Precession–nutation correction for star tracker attitude measurement of STECE satellite

Space Technology Experiment and Climate Exploration(STECE) is a small satellite mission of China for space technology experiment and climate exploration. A new test star tracker and one ASTRO 10 star tracker have been loaded on the STECE satellite to test the new star tracker's measurement performance. However,there is no autonomous precession–nutation correction function for the test star tracker,which causes an apparent periodic deflection in the inter-boresight angle between the two star trackers with respect to each other of up to ±500 arcsec,so the precession and nutation effect needs to be considered while assessing the test star tracker. This paper researches on the precession–nutation correction for the test star tracker's attitude measurement and presents a precession–nutation correction method based on attitude quaternion data. The periodic deflection of the inter-boresight angle between the two star trackers has been greatly eliminated after the precession and nutation of the test star tracker's attitude data have been corrected by the proposed method and the validity of the proposed algorithm has been demonstrated. The in-flight accuracy of the test star tracker has been assessed like attitude noise and low-frequency errors after the precession–nutation correction.     

Star trackers for attitude determination

One problem comes to all spacecrafts using vector information. That is the problem of determining the attitude. This paper describes how the area of attitude determination instruments has evolved from simple pointing devices into the latest technology, which determines the attitude by utilizing a CCD camera and a powerful microcomputer. The instruments are called star trackers and they are capable of determining the attitude with an accuracy better than 1 arcsecond. The concept of the star tracker is explained. The obtainable accuracy is calculated, the numbers of stars to be included in the star catalogue are discussed and the acquisition of the initial attitude is explained. Finally the commercial market for star trackers is discussed     

发展单兵星敏导航装备的必要性及技术特点

星光导航不受电磁干扰、能提供绝对姿态信息，具有重大战略意义。目前的星敏主要是为空天基导航而发展的，将其应用于单兵导航是否必要、需克服哪些技术难点、能达到怎样的效果等，都是值得探索的问题。为此，首先论述了发展单兵星敏导航装备的必要性，包括：不受电磁干扰破坏，是其他单兵导航装备失效时的保底装备；定向精度高，能弥补单兵卫星导航装备无法定向的缺陷；已突破部分气象因素限制，具备了全天时导航条件等。然后探讨了单兵星敏导航与空天基星敏导航、卫星导航、天文大地测量等比较所具有的不同技术特点。提出了发展单兵星敏导航装备需解决的关键技术问题，包括：气象因素影响的消减、时间基准和电源的长期维持、系统探测性能与系统小型化的平衡等。研究结果可为发展单兵星敏导航技术、设计研制单兵星敏导航系统提供参考。     

IDENTIFICATION OF GYRO DRIFTS UNDER THREE AXIS ATTITUDE COUPLING

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DOA estimation for attitude determination on communication satellites

In order to determine an appropriate attitude of three-axis stabilized communication satellites, this paper describes a novel attitude determination method using direction of arrival （DOA） estimation of a ground signal source. It differs from optical measurement, magnetic field measurement, inertial measurement, and global positioning system （GPS） attitude determination. The proposed method is characterized by taking the ground signal source as the attitude reference and acquiring attitude information from DOA estimation. Firstly, an attitude measurement equation with DOA estimation is derived in detail. Then, the error of the measurement equation is analyzed. Finally, an attitude determination algorithm is presented using a dynamic model, the attitude measurement equation, and measurement errors. A developing low Earth orbit （LEO） satellite which tests mobile communication technology with smart antennas can be stabilized in three axes by corporately using a magnetometer, reaction wheels, and three-axis magnetorquer rods. Based on the communication satellite, simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the method. The method could be a backup of attitude determination to prevent a system failure on the satellite. Its precision depends on the number of snapshots and the input signal-to-noise ratio （SNR） with DOA estimation.     

三轴稳定卫星的星敏感器对地定姿精度分析

给出利用星敏感器进行惯性姿态和对地姿态确定的流程,重点分析了惯性姿态向对地姿态转换过程中的误差传播关系,给出了相应的误差传播矩阵和误差传播影响因子。仿真表明,由于坐标转换时引入轨道参数误差,误差传播影响因子一般在1~2之间,因而使得对地定姿精度较惯性定姿精度稍低。     

两种多天线GNSS动态定姿方法的比较

针对移动载体对姿态的需求,对两种多天线GNSS动态定姿方法,即直接法和最小二乘迭代法进行了研究.分析了定姿的原理,给出了姿态解算模型.基于车载四天线GNSS的实测数据,分别用两种方法进行了姿态解算,并用同一运动平台高精度惯导给出的姿态作为参考值,对两种定姿方法的精度和可靠性进行了分析和比较.     

基于卫星和星敏感器的冗余激光惯组在轨标定

采用高精度卫星导航速度、位置信息以及星敏感器提供的姿态信息设计十表冗余捷联惯组的标定模型,包含陀螺和加速度计的零次项和标度因数,对卫星和星敏感器辅助的冗余激光陀螺捷联惯组进行实时在轨标定.利用标准Kalman滤波和Sage-Husa自适应滤波作为估计算法,对十表冗余捷联惯组参数进行在线估计.数值仿真结果表明:参数标定精度均在7％以内,是一种实时的在轨标定方法,满足误差补偿要求.冗余惯组在轨标定方法为航天器高精度定姿和定轨提供了一种理论参考.     

星敏感器安装误差标定技术研究

星敏感器是一类具有自主高精度姿态测量能力的仪器,输出姿态精度可达到角秒级。但实际组合导航应用中,星敏感器安装误差往往可达角分级,远远大于仪器本身误差,影响其使用品质,因此有必要在使用前对星敏感器安装误差进行建模标定。研究发现,星敏感器安装误差与惯导姿态误差存在耦合关系,难于分离。设计了一种快速标定方法,利用惯导输出姿态、位置信息以及星敏感器姿态输出构造观测量,建立卡尔曼滤波模型,通过滤波估计实现安装误差的地面标定。仿真结果表明,载体需要进行2个轴向上的机动才能将星敏感器三轴安装误差估计出来。相较于依靠外部基准姿态进行标定的方案,本方法具有快速高效、可操作性强等优点。     

多天线/GPS光纤陀螺IMU组合车载定姿系统研究

利用GPS多天线定姿系统与低成本光纤陀螺IMU组合,以PC104作为组合导航计算平台,采用重调式松散组合算法,构建了低成本、高精度、高可靠性的车载航姿保持系统,并成功应用于移动卫星通讯系统。经测试,组合系统静态初始化时间小于2min,动态定姿精度优于0.1度,更新率为100Hz。该项技术可进一步拓展应用于舰载、机载等运动平台,前景可观。     

一种星敏感器-陀螺组合定姿的实时在轨标定方法

研究了一种星敏感器一陀螺组合定姿方式中的姿态敏感器误差的实时在轨标定方法。首先,选择直观的欧拉角作为姿态描述参数,根据星敏感器和陀螺的测量原理建立星敏感器一陀螺在轨标定的测量方程和状态方程,并以此建立数学模型。其次,采用简单高效的EKF（ExtendedKalmanFilter,扩展卡尔曼滤波）作为估值算法,进行了在轨标定数值仿真。对于航天器姿态定向中出现的姿态角和星敏感器安装角之间的耦合问题,通过在特定姿态通道上施加简单姿态机动实现了解耦。数值结果表明,该实时在轨标定方法,尤其是所提出的姿态角和星敏感器安装角解耦策略,可以实现对航天器姿态的实时精确估计以及对星敏感器安装误差、陀螺常值漂移和相关漂移等误差的实时在轨标定。该方法可用于航天器姿态测量设备的实时在轨标定和航天器姿态的高精度实时确定。     

基于星敏感器的卫星姿态估计方法研究

以星敏感器姿态信息作为测量数据,结合卫星姿态动力学方程组,采用增广卡尔曼滤波方法对无陀螺卫星姿态进行估计。研究发现,干扰力矩的变化会降低卫星姿态估计结果的精度,为此提出两种改进的姿态估计算法:增广自适应卡尔曼滤波方法和增广强跟踪卡尔曼滤波方法;仿真表明,两种算法都能很好地克服干扰力矩变化导致的精度下降现象。     

一种全天时星跟踪器相对惯导的安装阵在线快速估计方法

全天时星跟踪器与捷联惯导组成的惯性/天文组合导航系统具有精度高、自主性强等优点,在飞机、无人机、船舶等领域具有广泛的应用前景。组合导航系统长时间工作中力热变化导致安装矩阵漂移进而影响导航系统精度,全天时星跟踪器由于天空光影响视场小,一次只能观测一颗恒星,无法根据一副星图直接进行安装阵估计。提出了一种基于Levenberg-Marquart （L-M）算法的捷联惯性/天文组合导航系统安装阵在线快速高精度估计方法,利用捷联惯导姿态测量值,将不同时刻的观测星矢量转移到同一时刻同一坐标系中,构造多颗观测星的观测矢量误差与导航星矢量最小二乘目标函数,利用自适应步长的L-M算法对其进行迭代求解,实时得到系统安装矩阵的变化量。试验结果表明,使用该方法后星跟踪器在捷联惯导本体坐标系的输出恒星投影矢量精度提升了1倍以上,在线估计时间优于5 ms,满足用户实时性和高精度要求。     

一种高精度小型化星敏感器设计

星敏感器是以恒星为参照系,以星空为工作对象的高精度空间姿态测量装置,提供准确的空间方位和基准,具有高精度、无漂移、工作寿命长等特点.针对星敏感器高精度和小体积的应用需求,基于小型化镜头设计、分体式结构、高集成度电路、"FP GA+ARM"软件等内容,提出了一种高精度小型化星敏感器,解决了狭小空间高度集成的小型化问题,实现了测姿0.6″(3σ)的高精度预期目标.星敏感器样机通过了试验考核,性能符合设计要求,具备全天球搜索恒星定姿的能力.     

Modelling the Attitude Noise of the Gaia Spacecraft. A Simplified Approach

A high-precision attitude determination and control of the forthcoming European Gaia satellite is an essential task for the success of the whole mission. The requirements for the spacecraft’s attitude require exceptional efforts in the simulation of the rotations of the satellite under the influence of continuous and randomly arising effects. This paper describes the structure of a physically-motivated noise model for simulating the attitude in a closed loop configuration. It deals with the analysis of the most important disturbing forces and torques acting on the Gaia spacecraft.