Optical navigation for nanosatellite star trackers

This thesis looks at the effectiveness of using nanosatellite class star trackers to perform optical navigation. Although star trackers used for these missions lack the accuracy and sensitivity of sensors employed on larger spacecraft, they offer great resolution relative to its compact size. Two Extended Kalman Filter-based navigation filters illustrate the applications of this class of sensor. The first filter looks at horizon-based techniques using observations of Mars and its moons to assist the navigation filter in a hyperbolic approach. Results show low position (< 300 m) and velocity (< 0:15 m/s) errors as spacecraft reaches periapse. The filter formulation serves as a basis for a design case study exploring different possible sensor configurations for this mission type. The second filter looks at landmark-based techniques using absolute and relative landmarks as observations. Measurement frequency appears as a key parameter in this study, simulation results show position errors in the order of tens of kilometers, or better even if absolute landmarks are only available every 30 minutes. The accuracy of the results are validated through series of Monte Carlo simulation.

Optical navigation for nanosatellite star trackers

This thesis looks at the effectiveness of using nanosatellite class star trackers to perform optical navigation. Although star trackers used for these missions lack the accuracy and sensitivity of sensors employed on larger spacecraft, they offer great resolution relative to its compact size. Two Extended Kalman Filter-based navigation filters illustrate the applications of this class of sensor. The first filter looks at horizon-based techniques using observations of Mars and its moons to assist the navigation filter in a hyperbolic approach. Results show low position (< 300 m) and velocity (< 0:15 m/s) errors as spacecraft reaches periapse. The filter formulation serves as a basis for a design case study exploring different possible sensor configurations for this mission type. The second filter looks at landmark-based techniques using absolute and relative landmarks as observations. Measurement frequency appears as a key parameter in this study, simulation results show position errors in the order of tens of kilometers, or better even if absolute landmarks are only available every 30 minutes. The accuracy of the results are validated through series of Monte Carlo simulation.

Dynamic Modeling of Underwater Multi-Hull Vehicles

SUMMARYThis paper describes a modeling approach to compute the lumped parameter hydrodynamic derivative matrices of an underwater multi-hull vehicle. The vehicle, modeled as a multi-body underwater system and denoted as cluster, can be composed by heterogeneous bodies with known dynamic parameters, rigidly connected. The nonlinear dynamic equations of the cluster and its parameters are derived by means of a modular approach, based on the composition of single basic elements. The ultimate objective is to derive a mathematical description of the multi-hull system that captures its most significant dynamics allowing to design model-based motion controllers and navigation filters. The modular nature of the resulting model can be exploited, by example, when control reconfiguration is to be dealt with in the presence of (possibly multiple) failures. The numerical simulation of a hypothetical cluster is presented and discussed.

Comparison of Kalman Filters for Inertial Integrated Navigation

The current research on integrated navigation is mainly focused on filtering or integrated navigation equipment. Studies systematically comparing and analyzing how to choose appropriate integrated filtering methods under different circumstances are lacking. This paper focuses on integrated navigation filters that are used by different filters and attitude parameters for inertial integrated navigation. We researched integrated navigation filters, established algorithms, and examined the relative merits for practical integrated navigation. Some suggestions for the use of filtering algorithms are provided.We completed simulations and car-mounted experiments for low-cost strapdown inertial navigation system(SINS) to assess the performance of the integrated navigation filtering algorithms.