Future spaceborne optical interferometers and laser satellite communication systems are two space applications that require a precision pointing function in order to meet mission goals. Spaceborne interferometers provide a promising means to discover Earth-like planets in other solar-like systems. The laser communication systems provide a low-power, low-cost, lightweight means of data relay between ground and space and for deep-space communications to interplanetary probes. Both applications share the need to acquire and track a target. The interferometry application requires pointing errors to be submicroradian while the laser communication application requires microradian-level errors. In order to meet the precision pointing requirements found in these applications, a precision pointing strategy has been developed. The strategy employs a hexapod as the pointing platform to reject vibrations from a noisy spacecraft bus over all frequencies: at low frequency using 2- or 3-axis pointing and at high frequency using 6-axis vibration isolation. The benefits include broadband pointing stability without a high-bandwidth pointing sensor or destabilizing excitation of high-frequency structural modes, as well as tolerance to failures. This article outlines this approach to pointing.


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    Title :

    A robotic approach to fault-tolerant, precision pointing


    Contributors:
    McInroy, J.E. (author) / Neat, G.W. (author) / O'Brien, J.F. (author)

    Published in:

    Publication date :

    1999


    Size :

    8 Seiten, 17 Quellen




    Type of media :

    Article (Journal)


    Type of material :

    Print


    Language :

    English




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