Interpolation methods for tracking spacecraft in ultratight formation

Miranda J. Bradshaw; Yang Gao; Kevin P. Homewood

doi:10.1117/1.JATIS.5.2.028003

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2 May 2019 Interpolation methods for tracking spacecraft in ultratight formation

Miranda J. Bradshaw, Yang Gao, Kevin P. Homewood

J. of Astronomical Telescopes, Instruments, and Systems, 5(2), 028003 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JATIS.5.2.028003

Abstract

By measuring the centroid of a beam on a detector, one can track the movement of that beam across the detector. By tracking this movement, one can track the object encompassing the detector, for example, a spacecraft. A variety of system-specific performance inhibitors can make this a challenge, requiring a robust calibration method. The goal of this investigation is to model the true beam position of the instrument in terms of the measured beam position. For this, a mathematical model is created that interpolates and corrects the measured beam position using precollected position data—a “calibration model.” The real-world scenario for this investigation is the flight-representative model of the fine lateral and longitudinal sensor (FLLS) instrument, built by Neptec Design Group and Neptec UK for the European Space Agency mission PROBA-3. Performance inhibitors for FLLS are cropping of the beam, imperfect optics, and a varying distance the beam has traveled (up to 250 m). Using bivariate spline interpolation for the FLLS calibration model gives the best performance, achieving a measurement accuracy well within the mission requirement of <300 μm.

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Miranda J. Bradshaw, Yang Gao, and Kevin P. Homewood "Interpolation methods for tracking spacecraft in ultratight formation," Journal of Astronomical Telescopes, Instruments, and Systems 5(2), 028003 (2 May 2019). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JATIS.5.2.028003

Received: 11 November 2018; Accepted: 8 April 2019; Published: 2 May 2019

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