Attitude determination system and method
US6145790A · kind A · utility
15Cited by
5References
7Claims
0Family size
Assignee
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Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 22, 1998 |
| Grant date | Nov 14, 2000 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 22, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC B)Performing Operations; Transporting
- CPC primaryB64G1/245
- WIPO fieldTransport
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
An attitude sensing system utilizing simplified techniques and apparatus includes a spacecraft control processor which receives signals from an inertial measurement unit and two attitude sensors. The spacecraft control processor calculates a time-varying gain matrix for estimating attitude errors and gyroscope drifts corresponding to the axes of the inertial measurement unit. In special cases where the separation angle between the attitude sensor vectors is less than approximately 10 degrees, the time-varying gain matrix is computed as a fixed gain matrix and a corresponding desensitizing factor.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.