Ephemeris/attitude reference determination using communications links

A system (300) for determining the ephemeris and attitude for a spacecraft includes ephemeris and attitude determining subsystems (700, 800) that obtain ephemeris data (708, 806) for one or more reference spacecraft crosslinked to the spacecraft. Crosslink sensor pointing information (706, 802) is o...

Ausführliche Beschreibung

Gespeichert in:
Bibliographische Detailangaben
Hauptverfasser: WEHNER JAMES W, SHERWOOD RICHARD B
Format: Patent
Sprache:eng
Schlagworte:
Online-Zugang:Volltext bestellen
Tags: Tag hinzufügen
Keine Tags, Fügen Sie den ersten Tag hinzu!
Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:A system (300) for determining the ephemeris and attitude for a spacecraft includes ephemeris and attitude determining subsystems (700, 800) that obtain ephemeris data (708, 806) for one or more reference spacecraft crosslinked to the spacecraft. Crosslink sensor pointing information (706, 802) is obtained for the crosslink sensors. The satellite ephemeris and attitude (712, 810) are then calculated with ephemeris and attitude determination algorithms (702, 804) based on the ephemeris data (708, 806) and crosslink sensor pointing information (706, 802). Other available information, such as stored results of previous measurements and calculations, time (710, 808), spacecraft attitude (704), information from non-crosslink sensors and ranging information may be used to enhance the accuracy or decrease the complexity of the ephemeris calculations.