All 2015 Content
Session
Technical Session IV: Advanced Technologies I
Abstract
The Multi-spacecraft Autonomous Positioning System enables a solar-system wide navigation capability. This architecture takes advantages of a growing interplanetary communication network. The spacecraft, as well as ground-based assets, share best estimated position and velocity, through embedded navigation packets. Combined with timing observations, this supports onboard autonomous state estimation. Through simulation-based analysis, this architecture has been shown to maintain state estimation accuracy during a Martian cruise while reducing the need for Earth-based state updates. The current stage of this research is development of a hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulation to further analyze this architecture. This allows for embedding of space-capable (and space-flown) components into a multi-agent hardware simulation. This demonstration of the architecture is used to both verify the simulation results, as well as to provide a proving ground and experimental test-bed for flight software development, evaluation, and algorithm optimization. By using COTS components, and in-house developed flight software libraries, a multi-spacecraft hardware-in-the-loop simulation has been developed. A Low Earth Orbit mission has been designed to demonstrate the architecture's performance. The HIL simulation of the flight software and architecture captures the first steps towards the further development of a platform to demonstrate this navigation technology, laying the groundwork for further architecture expansion.
Presentation
Multi-spacecraft Autonomous Positioning System: LEO Demo Development
The Multi-spacecraft Autonomous Positioning System enables a solar-system wide navigation capability. This architecture takes advantages of a growing interplanetary communication network. The spacecraft, as well as ground-based assets, share best estimated position and velocity, through embedded navigation packets. Combined with timing observations, this supports onboard autonomous state estimation. Through simulation-based analysis, this architecture has been shown to maintain state estimation accuracy during a Martian cruise while reducing the need for Earth-based state updates. The current stage of this research is development of a hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulation to further analyze this architecture. This allows for embedding of space-capable (and space-flown) components into a multi-agent hardware simulation. This demonstration of the architecture is used to both verify the simulation results, as well as to provide a proving ground and experimental test-bed for flight software development, evaluation, and algorithm optimization. By using COTS components, and in-house developed flight software libraries, a multi-spacecraft hardware-in-the-loop simulation has been developed. A Low Earth Orbit mission has been designed to demonstrate the architecture's performance. The HIL simulation of the flight software and architecture captures the first steps towards the further development of a platform to demonstrate this navigation technology, laying the groundwork for further architecture expansion.
