High-precision simulation of star map and its validity check

In order to test the algorithms of star map identification and the performance of star sensor by simulating star map on the ground, a new and high precision method for simulating star map is presented. This method makes use of the property of sectional circle and fixed field to derive the span of longitude based on latitude value as the condition for selecting stars; By constructing an ideal model of star sensor, the accurate positions of the selected guide stars on the CCD plane are derived. On the basis of position information and TFT liquid crystal light valve, high quality simulation of star map is performed. The validity of simulating star map is verified by using the angle-distance of stars and projection theorem. The simulation results show that compared with current common star map simulation methods, the proposed method features fast speed of choosing guide stars and simulating star map in real-time with good precision up to 98.8742% and position accuracy to 1/50 of pixel.