This work proposes a new approach to spacecraft inertia tensor estimation using exact Gaussian particle flow. Accurate knowledge of a spacecraft inertia tensor enables enhanced attitude control performance, but the inertia tensor is often imprecisely known. Given appropriate actuation and sensor data, these mass properties can be estimated on orbit, but the nonlinear dynamics and constraints on the inertia tensor pose challenges, especially with ensuring constraint satisfaction. Exact Gaussian particle flow provides an accurate and flexible estimation approach that can handle nonlinearities without undue computational burden, but addressing state constraints within particle flow requires novel treatments. The efficacy of this approach is demonstrated through Monte Carlo analysis of two numerical examples. Results indicate that exact Gaussian particle flow can be leveraged effectively for constrained estimation problems of this kind, providing accurate yet conservative estimates that are guaranteed to adhere to physical constraints.
Onboard Inertia Tensor Estimation Using Constrained Exact Gaussian Particle Flow
J Astronaut Sci
2025-04-30
Article (Journal)
Electronic Resource
English
Onboard Inertia Tensor Estimation Using Constrained Exact Gaussian Particle Flow
Springer Verlag | 2025
|British Library Conference Proceedings | 1999
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