Method and apparatus for real-time star exclusion from a database

US7219014B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• The Boeing Company · US

Inventors

• David D. Needelman · Torrance, US
• Rongsheng Li · La Puente, US
• Richard A. Fowell · Lomita, US
• Peter Lai · Palo Alto, US
• Yeong-Wei A. Wu · Rancho Palos Verdes, US
• Bruce N. Eyerly · Torrance, US
• Jonathan French · Somerville, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Apr 29, 2004
• Grant date: May 15, 2007
• Expiry date: Nov 30, 2024

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G01C22/00
• WIPO field: Measurement
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

A vehicle (12) including a control system (18) is used for controlling vehicle attitude or angular velocity (38). The processor (24) is coupled to a star sensor or tracker (22) and a memory (30) that may include a star catalog (32), and an exclusion list (36). The exclusion list (36), a list of stars to be temporarily excluded from consideration when determining attitude or angular velocity or relative alignment of star sensors or trackers, is calculated on-board. Such a calculation prevents the necessity for a costly, periodic, ground calculation and upload of such data. By manipulating the star catalog, or sub-catalogs derived from said catalog, based upon the exclusion list (36), measurements of such excluded stars are prevented from corrupting the attitude or angular velocity or alignment estimates formulated on board.