High Accuracy Attitude Estimation for Spacecraft Using Quaternion Star Sensors and Gyros

Abstract:

The problem of spacecraft attitude estimation utilizing star sensors and gyros is considered in this paper. Since the errors of the quaternion outputs of star sensors projected on the direction along the optical axis is higher than the other two directions, a novel method to increase the estimation accuracy of the attitude filter is presented, by producing observation vectors along the direction of the light axes, which are composed of a couple of quaternion outputs from different star sensors. The proposed algorithm is validated and proved more precise by numerical simulations.

• Periodical: Applied Mechanics and Materials (Volumes 427-429)
• Pages: 1544-1547
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMM.427-429.1544
• Online since: September 2013
• Authors: Zhi Gang Wang*, Yi Fan Deng
• Keywords: Attitude Estimation, Extended Kalman Flter (EKF), Quaternion, Star Sensor

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