Star-Sensor-Based Satellite Attitude/Attitude Rate Estimator

Recent advancements in star sensor technology suggest that implementations of spacecraft on-orbit attitude determination and control systems based solely On star sensor measurements may soon become practical. This paper defines the requirements such applications impose on the star sensors and the algorithms used to estimate attitude and attitude rate. A practical filter implementation is described. Its open-loop performance is evaluated, and simulation results are presented which suggest that performance consistent with a broad class of spacecraft applications is indeed achievable.