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Galileo Attitude Determination: Experiences with a Rotating Star ScannerThe Galileo experience with a rotating star scanner is discussed in terms of problems encountered in flight, solutions implemented, and lessons learned. An overview of the Galileo project and the attitude and articulation control subsystem is given and the star scanner hardware and relevant software algorithms are detailed. The star scanner is the sole source of inertial attitude reference for this spacecraft. Problem symptoms observed in flight are discussed in terms of effects on spacecraft performance and safety. Sources of thse problems include contributions from flight software idiosyncrasies and inadequate validation of the ground procedures used to identify target stars for use by the autonomous on-board star identification algorithm. Problem fixes (some already implemented and some only proposed) are discussed. A general conclusion is drawn regarding the inherent difficulty of performing simulation tests to validate algorithms which are highly sensitive to external inputs of statistically 'rare' events.
Document ID
19920015503
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Merken, L.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Singh, G.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Date Acquired
September 6, 2013
Publication Date
December 1, 1991
Publication Information
Publication: ESA, Spacecraft Flight Dynamics
Subject Category
Astrodynamics
Accession Number
92N24746
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other
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