scholarly journals In-Orbit Attitude Determination of the UVSQ-SAT CubeSat Using TRIAD and MEKF Methods

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (21) ◽  
pp. 7361
Author(s):  
Adrien Finance ◽  
Christophe Dufour ◽  
Thomas Boutéraon ◽  
Alain Sarkissian ◽  
Antoine Mangin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Attitude Determination ◽  
Spacecraft Attitude ◽  
Small Satellite ◽  
Infrared Sensors ◽  
High Quantum Efficiency ◽  
Small Satellites ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Spatio Temporal ◽  
Better Than

Ultraviolet and infrared sensors at high quantum efficiency on-board a small satellite (UVSQ-SAT) is a CubeSat dedicated to the observation of the Earth and the Sun. This satellite has been in orbit since January 2021. It measures the Earth’s outgoing shortwave and longwave radiations. The satellite does not have an active pointing system. To improve the accuracy of the Earth’s radiative measurements and to resolve spatio-temporal fluctuations as much as possible, it is necessary to have a good knowledge of the attitude of the UVSQ-SAT CubeSat. The attitude determination of small satellites remains a challenge, and UVSQ-SAT represents a real and unique example to date for testing and validating different methods to improve the in-orbit attitude determination of a CubeSat. This paper presents the flight results of the UVSQ-SAT’s attitude determination. The Tri-Axial Attitude Determination (TRIAD) method was used, which represents one of the simplest solutions to the spacecraft attitude determination problem. Another method based on the Multiplicative Extended Kalman Filter (MEKF) was used to improve the results obtained with the TRIAD method. In sunlight, the CubeSat attitude is determined at an accuracy better than 3° (at one σ) for both methods. During eclipses, the accuracy of the TRIAD method is 14°, while it reaches 10° (at one σ) for the recursive MEKF method. Many future satellites could benefit from these studies in order to validate methods and configurations before launch.

scholarly journals The UVSQ-SAT/INSPIRESat-5 CubeSat Mission: First In-Orbit Measurements of the Earth’s Outgoing Radiation

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 1449
Author(s):  
Mustapha Meftah ◽  
Thomas Boutéraon ◽  
Christophe Dufour ◽  
Alain Hauchecorne ◽  
Philippe Keckhut ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Longwave Radiation ◽  
Radiation Budget ◽  
Small Satellite ◽  
Infrared Sensors ◽  
High Quantum Efficiency ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Scientific Goal ◽  
French Speaking ◽  
Research And Education ◽  
Climate Studies

UltraViolet & infrared Sensors at high Quantum efficiency onboard a small SATellite (UVSQ-SAT) is a small satellite at the CubeSat standard, whose development began as one of the missions in the International Satellite Program in Research and Education (INSPIRE) consortium in 2017. UVSQ-SAT is an educational, technological and scientific pathfinder CubeSat mission dedicated to the observation of the Earth and the Sun. It was imagined, designed, produced and tested by LATMOS in collaboration with its academic and industrial partners, and the French-speaking radioamateur community. About the size of a Rubik’s Cube and weighing about 2 kg, this satellite was put in orbit in January 2021 by the SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle. After briefly introducing the UVSQ-SAT mission, this paper will present the importance of measuring the Earth’s radiation budget and its energy imbalance and the scientific objectives related to its various components. Finally, the first in-orbit observations will be shown (maps of the solar radiation reflected by the Earth and of the outgoing longwave radiation at the top of the atmosphere during February 2021). UVSQ-SAT is one of the few CubeSats worldwide with a scientific goal related to climate studies. It represents a research in remote sensing technologies for Climate observation and monitoring.

GRACE and GRACE-FO Level-1 V04 Data Processing Status

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Mccullough ◽  
Tamara Bandikova ◽  
William Bertiger ◽  
Carmen Boening ◽  
Sung Byun ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Data Processing ◽  
Attitude Determination ◽  
Precise Orbit Determination ◽  
Mass Change ◽  
Sensor Data ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Analysis Center ◽  
Level 1 ◽  
Gravity Recovery

<p>The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-On (GRACE-FO), launched in May 2018, provides invaluable information about mass change in the Earth system, continuing the legacy of GRACE. Fundamental requirements for successful mass change recovery are precise orbit determination and inter-satellite ranging, determination of the relative clock alignment of the ultra-stable oscillators (USOs), precise attitude determination, and accelerometry. NASA/Caltech Jet Propulsion Laboratory is the official Level-1 data processing and analysis center, and is currently processing software version 04. Here we present analysis of the aforementioned GRACE-FO sensor data, as well a preview of an upcoming GRACE reprocessing, and a discussion of measurement performance.</p>

Polar motion and earth tides from laser tracking

1977 ◽  
Vol 284 (1326) ◽  
pp. 485-494 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Earth Tides ◽  
Length Of Day ◽  
Laser Tracking ◽  
The Earth ◽  
New Information ◽  
Single Station ◽  
Laser Systems ◽  
Rotation Of The Earth ◽  
Better Than

The tracking of near-Earth satellites with laser systems permits the determination of the variation of latitude of the tracking station and the variation in the rotation of the Earth. The present-day capability of a single station is approximately 75 cm in latitude averaged over 6h and 0.8 ms in the length of day. When the Laser Geodynamics Satellite (Lageos) is launched, a network of laser stations is projected to be able to achieve better than 10 cm in each coordinate from less than one day of tracking. The perturba­tions of near-Earth satellites by solid Earth and ocean tides are now measurable and can provide new information about the Earth and oceans. The orbit perturbations have long periods (days, months) and the analysis of orbital changes are providing estimates of the amplitudes and phases of the major tidal components.

scholarly journals Small satellites in remote sensing of the Earth

2019 ◽  
pp. 82-88
Author(s):  
I. N. Gansvind
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Small Satellite ◽  
Small Satellites ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Technological Advances ◽  
Reasonable Cost ◽  
Minimum Interval ◽  
Space Activities

Innovative technological advances are considered as was used for brings for gave rise to small satellite, new opportunities for remote sensing based on multitudinous constellations of small satellites whereby it makes possible to meet the need for systematic continuous shooting with a minimum interval between views of any area of the Ears at reasonable cost. The aim of the work is to study possibilities and limitations associated with the use of small satellites in the field of remote sensing. This is an area of the study the consideration of design, deployment and operation problems of small satellites constellations The main problems to use of small satellites in Russian space activities identified and their overcoming in the development of the small satellites Russian standard is proposed.

scholarly journals UVSQ-SAT, a Pathfinder CubeSat Mission for Observing Essential Climate Variables

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mustapha Meftah ◽  
Luc Damé ◽  
Philippe Keckhut ◽  
Slimane Bekki ◽  
Alain Sarkissian ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quantum Efficiency ◽  
Spectral Irradiance ◽  
Radiation Budget ◽  
Climate Variables ◽  
Small Satellite ◽  
Infrared Sensors ◽  
High Quantum Efficiency ◽  
Satellite Constellation ◽  
High Quantum ◽  
Earth’S Radiation Budget

The UltraViolet and infrared Sensors at high Quantum efficiency onboard a small SATellite (UVSQ-SAT) mission aims to demonstrate pioneering technologies for broadband measurement of the Earth’s radiation budget (ERB) and solar spectral irradiance (SSI) in the Herzberg continuum (200–242 nm) using high quantum efficiency ultraviolet and infrared sensors. This research and innovation mission has been initiated by the University of Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ) with the support of the International Satellite Program in Research and Education (INSPIRE). The motivation of the UVSQ-SAT mission is to experiment miniaturized remote sensing sensors that could be used in the multi-point observation of Essential Climate Variables (ECV) by a small satellite constellation. UVSQ-SAT represents the first step in this ambitious satellite constellation project which is currently under development under the responsibility of the Laboratory Atmospheres, Environments, Space Observations (LATMOS), with the UVSQ-SAT CubeSat launch planned for 2020/2021. The UVSQ-SAT scientific payload consists of twelve miniaturized thermopile-based radiation sensors for monitoring incoming solar radiation and outgoing terrestrial radiation, four photodiodes that benefit from the intrinsic advantages of Ga 2 O 3 alloy-based sensors made by pulsed laser deposition for measuring solar UV spectral irradiance, and a new three-axis accelerometer/gyroscope/compass for satellite attitude estimation. We present here the scientific objectives of the UVSQ-SAT mission along the concepts and properties of the CubeSat platform and its payload. We also present the results of a numerical simulation study on the spatial reconstruction of the Earth’s radiation budget, on a geographical grid of 1 ° × 1 ° degree latitude-longitude, that could be achieved with UVSQ-SAT for different observation periods.

scholarly journals Rotation of the Solar System Bodies

1992 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 508-536
Author(s):  
B. Kolaczek
Keyword(s):  
Solar System ◽  
Solid Body ◽  
Artificial Satellites ◽  
The Moon ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Photometric Observations ◽  
Solar System Bodies ◽  
Rotation Of The Earth ◽  
Better Than

Solar System bodies are different. They have different sizes, from large planets to small asteroids, and shapes. They have different structure, from solid body to solid body with fluid atmosphere or core, to gaseous bodies, but all of them rotate. The Solar System is a big laboratory for studying rotation of solid and fluid bodies.Different observational methods are applied to determine the rotation of the Solar system bodies. They depend on the position of the observer and on the structure of the bodies. The most accurate methods, laser ranging to the Moon and artificial satellites and Very Long Base radio Interferometry have been applied to the determination of the rotation of the Earth and the Moon. Their accuracy is better than 0.001”, which on the surface of the Earth corresponds to about 3 cm. Radiotracking of artifical satellites have been used for Earth, Moon, Venus, Mars. In the case of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto-Charon magnetic and photometric observations have been used respectively. Their accuracy is of the order of one tenth of a degree.

scholarly journals Inertial Frame Determination from Hipparcos Observations of Minor Planets

1993 ◽  
Vol 156 ◽  
pp. 19-24
Author(s):  
D. Hestroffer
Keyword(s):  
Inertial Frame ◽  
Frame Analysis ◽  
Minor Planets ◽  
Orbital Elements ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Good Determination ◽  
One Year ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Better Than

Observations of 48 minor planets by Hipparcos should lead to a good determination of the inertial reference frame. Analysis of one year observations showed periodic effects in the o-c due to a rotation between the Hipparcos system and the inertial system. By extending this result to a 2.5 years simulation and by studying the impact of added ground-based observations, it appears that the orbital elements of the Earth and the parameters of a rotation of the system can be obtained with an accuracy better than 5 mas.

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