A portable low Earth orbit satellite (LEO) tracking mount is described which has dimensions of 21'x15'x10' and weighs 58 pounds. Using 22 bit encoders on 9.5' worm gears, an integral microcontroller is capable of adjustable slew rates to six degrees per second. With a CCD and tracking software LEO pointing is demonstrated on f/10 eight' telescope to less than 8 mu rad for periods of 10 seconds, and 50 mu rad for entire orbit passes. A closed loop one Hz video tracker is also described with automatic tracking of mag 7/8 satellites using a 12' telescope. Requiring only one operator, this system can be transported by a small car and be operational in a few hours. Possible uses and other recent work is also explained.
Description and experimental results of a 58 lb portable LEO satellite tracker
1998
10 Seiten, 6 Quellen
Aufsatz (Konferenz)
Englisch
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