Smeared star spot location estimation using directional integral method

Appl Opt. 2014 Apr 1;53(10):2073-86. doi: 10.1364/AO.53.002073.

Abstract

Image smearing significantly affects the accuracy of attitude determination of most star sensors. To ensure the accuracy and reliability of a star sensor under image smearing conditions, a novel directional integral method is presented for high-precision star spot location estimation to improve the accuracy of attitude determination. Simulations based on the orbit data of the challenging mini-satellite payload satellite were performed. Simulation results demonstrated that the proposed method exhibits high performance and good robustness, which indicates that the method can be applied effectively.