Star trackers must be calibrated prior to flight so that they can make accurate measurements of star positions within the instrument field of view. This calibration is often performed in atmosphere and once the sensor is launched, it is not uncommon to observe a small shift in some of the calibration parameters. To maximize sensor performance, these parameter values must be corrected to better match the actual observations. In this paper, we explore the several practical strategies for on-orbit recalibration of star trackers. We consider both human-mediated batch-processing as well as autonomous, sequential algorithms. We base our results on orbital data from a number of Sinclair Interplanetary ST16 star trackers launched within the last year. Both approaches to on-orbit calibration can yield significant improvements both to sensor availability and geometric error.
On-orbit star tracker recalibration: A case study
2015-03-01
2512949 byte
Conference paper
Electronic Resource
English
Italian Star Tracker: In-Orbit Experiences
British Library Conference Proceedings | 2003
|Autonomous on-orbit calibration of a star tracker
IEEE | 2016
|In-orbit star tracker misalignment estimation on the OAO
NTRS | 1969
|In-Orbit Star Tracker Misalignment Estimation on the Oao
NTIS | 1969
|