A star tracking algorithm suitable for star sensor

The sufficient attitude knowledge including location of recognized stars in star image can be obtained with Lost-in-Space case. In order to make use of the sufficient attitude knowledge, the star sensor may work in star tracking case. To achieve this, a star tracking algorithm is proposed in this paper. The previous location of recognized stars in star image may be used to obtain location of observed star in proper region of current star image with the star tracking algorithm. The simulations and real sky experiment results show that the star tracking algorithm proposed in this paper not only improves update rate of star sensor, but also avoids fault star pattern recognition. Finally, a star sensor featuring star tracking algorithm proposed in this paper was for on-orbit demonstration.