New autonomous celestial navigation method for lunar satellite

Celestial navigation system is an important autonomous navigation system widely used for deep space exploration missions, in which extended Kalman filter and the measurement of angle between celestial bodies are used to estimate the position and velocity of explorer. In a conventional cartesian coordinate, this navigation system can not be used to achieve accurate determination of position for linearization errors of nonlinear spacecraft motion equation. A new autonomous celestial navigation method has been proposed for lunar satellite using classical orbital parameters. The error of linearizafion is reduced because orbit parameters change much more slowly than the position and velocity used in the cartesian coordinate. Simulations were made with both the cartesiane system and a system based on classical orbital parameters using extended Kalman filter under the same conditions for comparison. The results of comparison demonstrated high precision position determination of lunar satellite using this new method.

SINS/CNS/GPS integrated navigation algorithm based on UKF

A new nonlinear algorithm is proposed for strapdown inertial navigation system （SINS）/celestial navigation system （CNS）/global positioning system （GPS） integrated navigation systems. The algorithm employs a nonlinear system error model which can be modified by unscented Kalman filter （UKF） to give predictions of local filters. And these predictions can be fused by the federated Kalman filter. In the system error model, the rotation vector is introduced to denote vehicle＇s attitude and has less variables than the quaternion. Also, the UKF method is simplified to estimate the system error model, which can both lead to less calculation and reduce algorithm implement time. In the information fusion section, a modified federated Kalman filter is proposed to solve the singular covariance problem. Specifically, the new algorithm is applied to maneuvering vehicles, and simulation results show that this algorithm is more accurate than the linear integrated navigation algorithm.

UPF based autonomous navigation scheme for deep space probe

The autonomous "celestial navigation scheme" for deep space probe departing from the earth and the autonomous "optical navigation scheme" for encountering object celestial body are presented. Then, aiming at the conditions that large initial estimation errors and non-Gaussian distribution of state or measurement errors may exist in orbit determination process of the two phases, UPF (unscented particle filter) is introduced into the navigation schemes. By tackling nonlinear and non-Gaussian problems, UPF overcomes the accuracy influence brought by the traditional EKF (extended Kalman filter), UKF (unscented Kalman filter), and PF (particle filter) schemes in approximate treatment to nonlinear and non-Gaussian state model and measurement model. The numerical simulations demonstrate the feasibility and higher accuracy of the UPF navigation scheme.

A Filtering Approach Based on MMAE for a SINS/CNS Integrated Navigation System

This paper explores multiple model adaptive estimation(MMAE) method, and with it, proposes a novel filtering algorithm. The proposed algorithm is an improved Kalman filter— multiple model adaptive estimation unscented Kalman filter(MMAE-UKF) rather than conventional Kalman filter methods,like the extended Kalman filter(EKF) and the unscented Kalman filter(UKF). UKF is used as a subfilter to obtain the system state estimate in the MMAE method. Single model filter has poor adaptability with uncertain or unknown system parameters,which the improved filtering method can overcome. Meanwhile,this algorithm is used for integrated navigation system of strapdown inertial navigation system(SINS) and celestial navigation system(CNS) by a ballistic missile's motion. The simulation results indicate that the proposed filtering algorithm has better navigation precision, can achieve optimal estimation of system state, and can be more flexible at the cost of increased computational burden.

Pulsar/CNS integrated navigation based on federated UKF

In order to improve the autonomous navigation capability of satellite,a pulsar/CNS（celestial navigation system） integrated navigation method based on federated unscented Kalman filter（UKF） is proposed.The celestial navigation is a mature and stable navigation method.However,its position determination performance is not satisfied due to the low accuracy of horizon sensor.Single pulsar navigation is a new navigation method,which can provide highly accurate range measurements.The major drawback of single pulsar navigation is that the system is completely unobservable.As two methods are complementary to each other,the federated UKF is used here for fusing the navigation data from single pulsar navigation and CNS.Compared to the traditional celestial navigation method and single pulsar navigation,the integrated navigation method can provide better navigation performance.The simulation results demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the navigation method.

New celestial assisted INS initial alignment method for lunar explorer

In the future lunar exploration programs of China, soft landing, sampling and returning will be realized. For lunar explorers such as Rovers, Landers and Ascenders, the inertial navigation system （INS） will be used to obtain high-precision navigation information. INS propagates position, velocity and attitude by integration of sensed accelerations, so initial alignment is needed before INS can work properly. However, traditional ground-based initial alignment methods cannot work well on the lunar surface because of its low rotation rate （0.55°/h）. For solving this problem, a new autonomous INS initial alignment method assisted by celestial observations is proposed, which uses star observations to help INS estimate its attitude, gyroscopes drifts and accelerometer biases. Simulations show that this new method can not only speed up alignment, but also improve the alignment accuracy. Furthermore, the impact factors such as initial conditions, accuracy of INS sensors, and accuracy of star sensor on alignment accuracy are analyzed in details, which provide guidance for the engineering applications of this method. This method could be a promising and attractive solution for lunar explorer＇s initial alignment.

The principle of a navigation constellation composed of SIGSO communication satellites

The Chinese Area Positioning System （CAPS）, a navigation system based on geostafionary orbit （GEO） communication satellites, was developed in 2002 by astronomers at Chinese Academy of Sciences. Extensive positioning experiments of CAPS have been performed since 2005. On the basis of CAPS, this paper studies the principle of a navigation constellation composed of slightly inclined geostationary orbit （SIGSO） communication satellites. SIGSO satellites are derived from GEO satellites which are near the end of their operational life by inclined orbit operation. Considering the abundant frequency resources of SIGSO satellites, multi-frequency observations could be conducted to enhance the precision of pseudorange measurements and ameliorate the positioning performance. A constellation composed of two GEO satellites and four SIGSO satellites with an inclination of 5° can provide service to most of the territory of China with a maximum position dilution of precision （PDOP） over 24 h of less than 42. With synthetic utilization of the truncated precise code and a physical augmentation factor in four frequencies, the navigation system with this constellation is expected to obtain comparable positioning performance to that of the coarse acquisition code of the Global Positioning System （GPS）. When the new method of code-carrier phase combinations is adopted, the system has the potential to possess commensurate accuracy with the precise code in GPS. Additionally, the copious frequency resources can also be used to develop new anti-interference techniques and integrate navigation and communication.

On the Azimuth Error of ESG Strapdown North-Seeking Instrument

Because the vector of angular momentum of ESG (electrostatically suspended gyroscope) maintains the fixed direction in inertial space, it may be regarded as a fixed star. The astronavigation aigorithm is used to estimate the azimuth angle and the gyro constant drift in the paper. The relative errors which affect the estimation accuracy of the azimuth angle are the analysed.

A new method of single celestial-body sun positioning based on theory of mechanisms

Considering defects of current single celestial-body positioning methods such as discon- tinuity and long period, a new sun positioning algorithm is herein put forward. Instead of tradi- tional astronomical spherical trigonometry and celestial coordinate system, the proposed new positioning algorithm is built by theory of mechanisms. Based on previously derived solar vector equations （from a C1R2p2 series mechanism）, a further global positioning method is developed by inverse kinematics. The longitude and latitude coordinates expressed by Greenwich mean time （GMT） and solar vector in local coordinate system are formulated. Meanwhile, elimination method of multiple solutions, errors of longitude and latitude calculation are given. In addition, this algo- rithm has been integrated successfully into a mobile phone application to visualize sun positioning process. Results of theoretical verification and smart phone＇s test demonstrate the validity of pre- sented coordinate＇s expressions. Precision is shown as equivalent to current works and is acceptable to civil aviation requirement. This new method solves long-period problem in sun sight running fix- ing and improves applicability of sun positioning. Its methodology can inspire development of new sun positioning device. It would be more applicable to be combined with inertial navigation systems for overcoming discontinuity of celestial navigation systems and accumulative errors of inertial nav- igation systems.

Aero-optical effects simulation technique for starlight transmission in boundary layer under high-speed conditions

Aero-optical effects for starlight transmission in the high-speed flow field will reduce the accuracy of the star sensor on an aircraft.Numerical simulations for aero-optical effects usually require plenty of calculations,which cause difficulties when designing a celestial navigation system for a high-speed aircraft.In this study,an Aero-Optical Simulator For Starlight Transmission(AOSST)in the boundary layer is developed.It effectively reduces the computational burden compared to that of the widely used CFD simulation,and it achieves satisfactory accuracy.In this simulator,gas ellipsoids satisfying certain design rules are used to simulate coherent density structures in boundary layers.Design rules for the gas ellipsoids are found from published experimental and high-fidelity CFD simulation results.The generated wavefront distortion by AOSST is anchored with the scale law for aero-optical distortion in the boundary layer by determining some control parameters,which enables the simulator to output reliable results over a wide range of flight states.Four numerical examples are provided to verify the performance of AOSST.The results demonstrate that AOSST is able to simulate the directional dependence of aero-optical distortions in boundary layers,the variation trend of distorted wavefront shapes with Reynolds number,and the grayscale distribution on the disturbed star map.