Session
Weekday Poster Session 4
Location
Utah State University, Logan, UT
Abstract
CubeSats are increasingly used to support complex missions requiring accurate attitude knowledge and pointing control. To meet these requirements, miniature star trackers are being manifested with CubeSat attitude control systems. Accurate performance verification of these trackers can be facilitated using a low-cost, hardware-in-the-loop simulator. The simulator covered in this paper incorporates a high-resolution monitor and a collimating lens to project a simulated star field for the star tracker under test. Based on a systematic accuracy analysis, this simulator is shown to be precise enough to allow for successful star identification and attitude determination in a closed loop test. An empirical method is also used to calibrate the brightness of projected stars by comparing star camera sensor outputs with night sky data. The simulator's ability to recreate operating conditions is finally validated by comparing detection and identification results against night sky data from a new star tracker now under development in the Laboratory for Advanced Space Systems at Illinois (LASSI).
A Low-Cost, Hardware-In-The-Loop Simulator Facilitating CubeSat Star Tracker Development
Utah State University, Logan, UT
CubeSats are increasingly used to support complex missions requiring accurate attitude knowledge and pointing control. To meet these requirements, miniature star trackers are being manifested with CubeSat attitude control systems. Accurate performance verification of these trackers can be facilitated using a low-cost, hardware-in-the-loop simulator. The simulator covered in this paper incorporates a high-resolution monitor and a collimating lens to project a simulated star field for the star tracker under test. Based on a systematic accuracy analysis, this simulator is shown to be precise enough to allow for successful star identification and attitude determination in a closed loop test. An empirical method is also used to calibrate the brightness of projected stars by comparing star camera sensor outputs with night sky data. The simulator's ability to recreate operating conditions is finally validated by comparing detection and identification results against night sky data from a new star tracker now under development in the Laboratory for Advanced Space Systems at Illinois (LASSI).
