Satellite Attitude Determination Using Linear Combination of Models
Abstract
In satellite analysis, it is often necessary to determine the attitude of a satellite from a two dimensional image of the satellite. This thesis describes work performed to determine the attitude of a satellite relative to a reference position. The attitude is described in terms of the scaling, rotation and translation of the reference that will result in a pose that can be projected to form the image of interest. The techniques used are based on finding coefficients for the linear combination of basis images and decomposition of a composite transformation matrix. The methods were initially modeled in Mathematica and applied to simple objects, then implemented on a Silicon Graphics Workstation and applied to a model of an actual satellite. An accurate estimate of the pose of a satellite in a 2D image can be estimated based on the information contained in the image and a 3D model of the satellite or a set of images of the satellite at known orientations. Results of a performance analysis of the SGI implementation, a user's guide, source code in Mathematica and a software reference are included. Attitude determination, Linear combination, Basis image, Linear transformation, Satellite modeling.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 1993
- Accession Number
- ADA274082
Entities
People
- Martin S. Chin
Organizations
- Air Force Institute of Technology