Atttiude Estimation for Small, Agile Spacecraft

小型敏捷航天器的姿态估计

• 批准号: RGPIN-2015-05584
• 负责人: Enright, John
• 金额: $ 1.82万
• 依托单位: Ryerson University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2016-01-01 至 2017-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=614486
• 关键词: Atttiude; Estimation; Small; Agile; Spacecraft

Very small spacecraft are increasingly seen as a valid platform for cost-effective and responsive space missions. Once considered suitable only for technology demonstrations cubesat and nanosatellite class spacecraft now have significant flight heritage in demanding environments. As the capabilities of these spacecraft expand, designers require better performance from the satellites’ subsystems. This push towards improved performance is particularly acute in the area of spacecraft attitude estimation. This proposal examines the challenges encountered in designing sensors and integrated attitude estimation systems for very small spacecraft. Not only do these missions demand precise knowledge of spacecraft orientation but many emerging applications for Earth-Observation (EO) satellite servicing, and missions beyond Low Earth Orbit (LEO) require that this attitude knowledge be available when the satellite is undergoing rapid motion. Accommodating these technical and operational challenges requires design approaches significantly different than what is encountered in traditional satellite engineering. The proposed research combines design trade-studies with detailed analysis of single-sensor and multi-sensor estimation systems. The proposed program of research relies on a number of complementary methodologies. High-level simulations are used to conduct system-level trade studies and design optimization. More detailed sensor processing and estimation techniques are first evaluated analytically and then validated with detailed simulations of sensor operation using Matlab and Zemax. New processing algorithms can be evaluated and tested in laboratory experiments on a variety of engineering-model star trackers and LIDAR systems. This comprehensive approach to development and validation helps mature innovations to the point that they are suitable for follow-on projects in conjunction with industry partners. We expect that this research will lead to improvements in the practice of high-performance attitude estimation for agile cubesats and nanosatellites. These advances will benefit mission designers (better trade studies and design tools), attitude determination and control engineers (tailored estimation and signal processing algorithms), and avionics developers (motion compensation and other sensor-specific innovations).

太小的航天器越来越被视为具有成本效益和响应迅速空间任务的有效平台。曾经被认为仅适用于技术演示的Cubesat和Nanosatellite类航天器现在在苛刻的环境中具有很大的飞行遗产。随着这些航天器的功能的扩展，设计人员需要从卫星的子系统中获得更好的性能。在航天器态度估计领域，这种提高性能的推动尤其急剧。 该提案研究了针对非常小的航天器设计传感器和综合态度估计系统所遇到的挑战。这些任务不仅需要对航天器取向的精确知识，而且需要许多新兴的地球观察（EO）卫星服务应用，而低地球轨道（LEO）以外的任务要求当卫星正在快速运动时可用此态度知识。适应这些技术和运营挑战需要设计方法与传统卫星工程中遇到的方法明显不同。拟议的研究结合了设计贸易研究与单传感器和多传感器估计系统的详细分析。 拟议的研究计划依赖于多种补充方法。高级模拟用于进行系统级别的贸易研究和设计优化。首先对更详细的传感器处理和估计技术进行分析评估，然后通过使用MATLAB和ZEMAX对传感器操作进行详细模拟进行验证。可以在实验室实验中评估和测试新的加工算法，以对各种工程模型的星星跟踪器和LiDAR系统进行评估。这种全面的开发和验证方法有助于成熟的创新，以至于它们适合与行业合作伙伴结合使用。 我们预计这项研究将导致对敏捷立方体和纳米卫星的高性能态度估计实践的改善。这些进步将使任务设计师（更好的贸易研究和设计工具），态度确定和控制工程师（量身定制的估计和信号处理算法）以及航空电子开发人员（运动补偿和其他特定于传感器特定的创新）受益。