Six degree of freedom navigation using astrophysical signals of opportunity

Joel T. Runnels, Demoz Gebre-Egziabher

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

In this paper, an estimator is derived for jointly estimating a spacecraft’s position and orientation based on measurements of photons from astrophysical signals, specifically x-ray pulsars. It is shown that the accuracy of a navigation solution using x-ray pulsars is inherently coupled to the accuracy of the attitude solution. The efficacy of the estimator is demonstrated using Monte Carlo simulations which demonstrate the relationship between attitude solution error and position solution error.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationGuidance, Navigation, and Control, 2019
EditorsHeidi E. Hallowell
PublisherUnivelt Inc.
Pages377-388
Number of pages12
ISBN (Print)9780877036616
StatePublished - 2019
Event42nd AAS Rocky Mountain Section Guidance and Control Conference, 2019 - Breckenridge, United States
Duration: Jan 31 2019Feb 6 2019

Publication series

NameAdvances in the Astronautical Sciences
Volume169
ISSN (Print)0065-3438

Conference

Conference42nd AAS Rocky Mountain Section Guidance and Control Conference, 2019
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityBreckenridge
Period1/31/192/6/19

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This research has made use of data obtained through the High Energy Astrophysics Science Archive Research Center Online Service, provided by the NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center. This research has made use of data obtained from the Suzaku satellite, a collaborative mission between the space agencies of Japan (JAXA) and the USA (NASA). The authors gratefully acknowledge JAXA/NASA for the data. The authors also acknowledge the NASA/Minnesota Space Grant Consortium and the Air Force Research Lab University Nanosat Program for providing funding to support this work. The authors also acknowledge the contributions of Dr. Lindsay Glesener in her assistance with obtaining and analyzing x-ray data and assessing the level of background noise to use in the simulation studies. While the authors gratefully acknowledge the afore-mentioned individuals and organizations, the views and conclusions expressed in this paper are those of the authors alone and should not be interpreted as necessarily representing the official policies, either expressed or implied, of any organization.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2019, Univelt Inc. All rights reserved.

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