초록 ▼

A method of and apparatus for determining and controlling the inertial attitude of a spinning artificial satellite without using a suite of inertial gyroscopes. The method and apparatus operate by tracking three astronomical objects near the Earth's ecliptic pole and the satellite's and/or star trac

A method of and apparatus for determining and controlling the inertial attitude of a spinning artificial satellite without using a suite of inertial gyroscopes. The method and apparatus operate by tracking three astronomical objects near the Earth's ecliptic pole and the satellite's and/or star tracker's spin axis and processing the track information. The method and apparatus include steps and means for selecting preferably three astronomical objects using a histogram method and determining a square of a first radius (R12) of a track of a first astronomical object; determining a square of a second radius (R22) of a track of a second astronomical object; determining a square of a third radius (R32) of a track of a third astronomical object; determining the inertial attitude of the spin axis using the squares of the first, second, and third radii (R12, R22, and R32) to calculate pitch, yaw, and roll rate; determining a change in the pitch and yaw of the artificial satellite; and controlling on-board generated current flow to various orthogonally-disposed current-carrying loops to act against the Earth's magnetic field and to apply gyroscopic precession to the spinning satellite to correct and maintain its optimum inertial attitude.

대표청구항 ▼

1. A pointing and/or tracking system, comprising: a spinning artificial satellite; anda launch mechanism adapted to launch the artificial satellite so as to spin about a spin axis;wherein the artificial satellite includes: an optical sensor having a field-of-view parallel or substantially parallel t

1. A pointing and/or tracking system, comprising: a spinning artificial satellite; anda launch mechanism adapted to launch the artificial satellite so as to spin about a spin axis;wherein the artificial satellite includes: an optical sensor having a field-of-view parallel or substantially parallel to the spin axis;at least one of a microwave tracking device, a radiation-tracking device, a microwave-pointing device, and a radiation-pointing device, each of said devices having a field-of-view oriented generally opposite the field-of-view of the optical sensor; andan optical mirror that is counter-rotational about the spin axis of the artificial satellite for stabilizing a line-of-sight communication link in inertial space between said at least one microwave tracking device, radiation-tracking device, microwave-pointing device, and radiation-pointing device and a target, the target comprising one or more terrestrial locations or one or more artificial satellites, the optical mirror controllable to direct a signal on the line of sight to or from the target. 2. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein said at least one microwave tracking device, radiation-tracking device, microwave-pointing device, and radiation-pointing device is adapted to illuminate at least one of one or more terrestrial locations and one or more artificial satellites. 3. The system as recited in claim 2 further comprising a controller that is adapted to track said one or more terrestrial locations or one or more artificial satellites by generating relative angular motion data. 4. The system as recited in claim 3, wherein the one or more terrestrial locations is an Earth landmark. 5. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the optical sensor is a common mosaic array optical sensor that is adapted to implement accurate reference alignment of the target using optical pointing/tracking signal data from said at least one microwave tracking device, radiation-tracking device, microwave-pointing device, and radiation-pointing device and image reference data from the optical sensor. 6. The system as recited in claim 5, wherein the optical sensor is a common mosaic array optical sensor that is adapted to implement adaptive optics compensation, to mitigate atmospheric distortion effects. 7. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the one or more terrestrial locations includes an unmanned aerial vehicle or drone that is not stationary. 8. A navigation system for providing relative or absolute location and navigation data, the system comprising: a spinning artificial satellite; anda launch mechanism adapted to launch the artificial satellite so as to spin about a spin axis at a spin rate;wherein the artificial satellite includes: an optical sensor having a field-of-view parallel or substantially parallel to the spin axis;a navigation data device having a field-of-view oriented generally opposite the field-of-view of the optical sensor; andan optical mirror that is counter-rotational about the spin axis and oriented and controllable to project a stabilized line of sight to a target for stabilizing said navigation data device in space. 9. The navigation system as recited in claim 8, wherein the navigation data device is selected from the group comprising an Earth horizon detector, a planet detector, a sun detector, an Earth landmark detector, and a proliferated spinning satellite detector. 10. The navigation system as recited in claim 8, wherein the optical sensor is a common mosaic array optical sensor that is adapted to implement accurate reference alignment of the satellite using optical navigational signal reference data generated by the navigation data device and image reference data from the optical sensor. 11. The navigation system as recited in claim 8, wherein the navigation data device is a near-body navigation sensor that is structured and arranged so that one or more scans across a near-body reference is completed during a revolution of the satellite. 12. A system for determining and controlling an inertial attitude of a spin axis of an artificial satellite, the system comprising: an optical sensor adapted to determine a square of a first radius (R12) of a track of a first astronomical object, a square of a second radius (R22) of a track of a second astronomical object, and a square of a third radius (R32) of a track of a third astronomical object;at least one torque-producing device that is adapted to provide precession to the artificial satellite;a partitioned power source, each portion thereof being electrically-coupled to each of the at least one torque-producing devices;an inertial attitude processor that is adapted to determine the inertial attitude of the spin axis based on the square of the first radius (R12), the square of the second radius (R22), and the square of the third radius (R32), and to control at least one of an amount and a direction of current flowing through at least one of the torque-producing devices, to correct the inertial attitude of the spin axis or a spin vector normal thereto; andan optical mirror that is counter-rotational about the spin axis and oriented and controllable to project a stabilized line of sight to a target for stabilizing said inertial attitude processor. 13. The system as recited in claim 12, further comprising: means for applying gyroscopic precession to adjust the spin rate of the artificial satellite. 14. A terrestrial-based, multi-function testing system for assessing inertial attitude determination and control functions of the artificial satellite recited in claim 12, the testing system comprising: a frame for holding the artificial satellite, the frame being adapted to provide an azimuth degree of freedom and a vertical degree of freedom;a mirror assembly that is disposed on the spin axis of the satellite and adapted to counter-rotate about said spin axis;a plurality of light emitting devices for simulating celestial bodies for control of inertial attitude determination;a solar simulator for powering the plurality of power cells; anda horizon simulator for local vertical navigation reference. 15. The testing system as recited in claim 12, wherein the frame includes a torque bearing assembly that is structured and arranged to rotate the satellite about a spin axis at a predetermined rate of spin.