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Satellite Attitude Determination Using Laser Communication Systems

Sabala, Ryan J.

Abstract Details

2008, Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, Electrical Engineering (Engineering and Technology).
Satellite laser communication systems provide measurements that can be further processed to provide relative attitude estimates of each satellite in the constellation. This suggests a dual-use potential yielding benefits such as the use of lower-cost inertial measurement units, achieving improved fault-tolerance, and facilitating the implementation of orbital control systems. This thesis presents a static attitude determination scheme that provides relative attitude estimates using azimuth and elevation angles provided by the laser communication system. These measurements are corrupted by noise and error sources, several of which are characterized herein, and so this thesis also presents a sensitivity analysis intended to characterize the impact that these errors have on the attitude solution. This analysis reveals a high degree of sensitivity which indicates that a dynamic attitude estimation scheme may be required that incorporates the static estimation scheme in a nonlinear filtering architecture.
Douglas A. Lawrence, PhD (Committee Chair)
Maarten Uijt de Haag, PhD (Committee Member)
Sergiu Aizicovici, PhD (Committee Member)
Robert Williams II, PhD (Committee Member)
71 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Sabala, R. J. (2008). Satellite Attitude Determination Using Laser Communication Systems [Master's thesis, Ohio University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1218636153

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Sabala, Ryan. Satellite Attitude Determination Using Laser Communication Systems. 2008. Ohio University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1218636153.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Sabala, Ryan. "Satellite Attitude Determination Using Laser Communication Systems." Master's thesis, Ohio University, 2008. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1218636153

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)