Advanced UAV Aerodynamics, Flight Stability and Control

18Autonomous Space Navigation Using Nonlinear Filters with MEMS Technology

Seid H. Pourtakdoust and Maryam Kiani

Center for Research and Development in Space Science and Technology, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran

18.1 Introduction and Problem Statement

Rapid growth of space traffic and low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite systems for remote sensing and communication applications have produced a need for improved autonomous performance for the navigation subsystems that are a vital part of any operational space system. Accordingly, due to the wide variety of space missions and applications, attitude and orbit determination schemes that are independent of Earth‐based observation systems are getting more attention for space applications. The current chapter is dedicated to the development and enhancement of autonomous space navigation. In this regard, concurrent orbit and attitude determination (COAD) is investigated in Section 18.2. COAD is especially useful because it greatly reduces the cost and weight of the navigation and control subsystems for small satellites.

Sensor calibration and a good knowledge of dynamic system parameters affect the estimation accuracy, and the problems of simultaneous attitude determination (AD), parameter identification (PI) and measurement system calibration (MSC) are discussed in Section 18.3.

Undoubtedly, the rapid development and growth of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology has played an important role in its use in space ...