GPS Based Spacecraft Attitude Determination
Abstract
This report summarizes the FY'92-93 research activity at the Colorado Center for Astrodynamics Research (CCAR) on the application of GPS based attitude determination techniques to near-Earth spacecraft. The areas addressed include solution algorithms simulation of the spacecraft and environment, and ground testing of a state-of-the-art attitude receiver. The simulation includes models of a gravity gradient stabilized gyrostat in a near-Earth, J2 perturbed orbit. GPS pseudorange measurements for navigation, and phase difference measurements for attitude determination, were modeled including error sources such as Selective Availability (SA) and multipath. A Kalman Filter was designed to estimate the position and velocity of the vehicle in an Earth Centered Inertial coordinate frame. With the simplified models used, positioning accuracy was found to be about 2 meters RMS without SA and 30 m RMS when SA was included. For attitude determination, the antenna baselines were considered to be 1 meter long in an optimal orthogonal configuration
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 30, 1993
- Accession Number
- ADA271734
Entities
People
- Bruce C. Chesley
- Lisa M. Ward
- Penina Axelrad