On-board vision-based spacecraft estimation algorithm for small body exploration

A methodology is summarized for designing on-board state estimators in support of spacecraft exploration of small bodies such as asteroids and comets. This paper focuses on an estimation algorithm that incorporates two basic computer-vision measurement types: a landmark table (LMT) and a paired feature table (PFT). Several innovations are developed to incorporate these measurement types into the on-board state estimation algorithm. Simulations are provided to demonstrate the feasibility of the approach.

[1]  Bernard A. Kriegsman,et al.  Shuttle navigation system for entry and landing mission phases , 1974 .

[2]  Stergios I. Roumeliotis,et al.  Augmenting inertial navigation with image-based motion estimation , 2002, Proceedings 2002 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (Cat. No.02CH37292).

[3]  Gene H. Golub,et al.  Matrix computations , 1983 .

[4]  W. Willman,et al.  On the linear smoothing problem , 1969 .

[5]  Shyam Bhaskaran,et al.  Navigation of the Deep Space 1 spacecraft at Borrelly , 2002 .

[6]  B. Anderson,et al.  Optimal Filtering , 1979, IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics.

[7]  D. G. Kubitschek.  Impactor spacecraft targeting for the Deep Impact mission to comet Tempel 1 , 2003 .

[8]  J. De Lafontaine.  Autonomous spacecraft navigation and control for comet landing , 1992 .

[9]  J. Junkins,et al.  Optimal Attitude and Position Determination from Line-of-Sight Measurements , 2000 .

[10]  Arthur Gelb,et al.  Applied Optimal Estimation , 1974 .

[11]  O. Faugeras.  Three-dimensional computer vision: a geometric viewpoint , 1993 .

[12]  W. M. Owen,et al.  NEAR optical navigation at Eros , 2001 .

[13]  D.S. Bayard,et al.  An estimation algorithm for vision-based exploration of small bodies in space , 2005, Proceedings of the 2005, American Control Conference, 2005..

[14]  Joseph E. Riedel,et al.  Autonomous nucleus tracking for comet/asteroid encounters: the Stardust example , 1998, 1998 IEEE Aerospace Conference Proceedings (Cat. No.98TH8339).

[15]  G. Bierman.  Factorization methods for discrete sequential estimation , 1977 .

[16]  Stergios I. Roumeliotis,et al.  Stochastic cloning: a generalized framework for processing relative state measurements , 2002, Proceedings 2002 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (Cat. No.02CH37292).

[17]  John L. Junkins,et al.  " Vision-Based Navigation for Rendezvous , Docking and Proximity Operation " , 1999 .