Session
Poster Session 1
Abstract
Recently there has been a growing interest in chip-scale, or femto-scale, satellites. Proposed mission operation concepts include deploying a constellation of femtosats to perform scientific measurements in a 3D volume of space. However, any collected data will only be useful if their corresponding locations are known. In this manuscript, we propose a Kalman filter position determination method for femtosatellites that relies on the Doppler shift measurements observed as a larger host satellite tracks the femtosats.
Simulations for a hypothetical Titan mission have been completed. Using synthetically created Doppler shift measurements, accurate initial state estimates were determined. By applying this position estimation technique, future exploration missions could augment the overall data collection by deploying a constellation of tiny femtosatellites to achieve in-situ mapping of atmospheric properties or other scientific investigations.
Orbit Determination of Femtosatellites Used in Planetary Exploration Missions
Recently there has been a growing interest in chip-scale, or femto-scale, satellites. Proposed mission operation concepts include deploying a constellation of femtosats to perform scientific measurements in a 3D volume of space. However, any collected data will only be useful if their corresponding locations are known. In this manuscript, we propose a Kalman filter position determination method for femtosatellites that relies on the Doppler shift measurements observed as a larger host satellite tracks the femtosats.
Simulations for a hypothetical Titan mission have been completed. Using synthetically created Doppler shift measurements, accurate initial state estimates were determined. By applying this position estimation technique, future exploration missions could augment the overall data collection by deploying a constellation of tiny femtosatellites to achieve in-situ mapping of atmospheric properties or other scientific investigations.
