GB2266634A - Solar sensor for satellite attitude determination - Google Patents
Solar sensor for satellite attitude determination Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- GB2266634A GB2266634A GB9308671A GB9308671A GB2266634A GB 2266634 A GB2266634 A GB 2266634A GB 9308671 A GB9308671 A GB 9308671A GB 9308671 A GB9308671 A GB 9308671A GB 2266634 A GB2266634 A GB 2266634A
- Authority
- GB
- United Kingdom
- Prior art keywords
- angle
- incidence
- detector strip
- solar sensor
- light entry
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Granted
Links
Classifications
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G01—MEASURING; TESTING
- G01S—RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
- G01S3/00—Direction-finders for determining the direction from which infrasonic, sonic, ultrasonic, or electromagnetic waves, or particle emission, not having a directional significance, are being received
- G01S3/78—Direction-finders for determining the direction from which infrasonic, sonic, ultrasonic, or electromagnetic waves, or particle emission, not having a directional significance, are being received using electromagnetic waves other than radio waves
- G01S3/782—Systems for determining direction or deviation from predetermined direction
- G01S3/783—Systems for determining direction or deviation from predetermined direction using amplitude comparison of signals derived from static detectors or detector systems
Landscapes
- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Electromagnetism (AREA)
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Radar, Positioning & Navigation (AREA)
- Remote Sensing (AREA)
- Navigation (AREA)
- Length Measuring Devices By Optical Means (AREA)
- Photometry And Measurement Of Optical Pulse Characteristics (AREA)
Abstract
The angle of incidence of sunlight onto a sensor is used for satellite attitude determination. The point of impact of sunlight entering through an aperture onto a single detector strip comprising a number of individual sensors is used to determine the angle of incidence. The aperture is in the form of a right angle or another predetermined angle, whereby the one angle of incidence is determined from the irradiated detectors of one half of the detector strip and the other angle of incidence is determined from the irradiated detectors of the other half of the detector strip. These are scanned simultaneously at the outlet of an electronic readout system, whereby the angles are calculated in an electronic analyzer. <IMAGE>
Description
a SOLAR SENSOR FOR z-AXES FOR SATELLITE ATTITUDE
DETERMINATION
This invention relates to a solar sensor for zaxes for satellite attitude determination, in which the point of impact of sunlight entering through an aperture on a detector strip comprising a number of individual sensors is used to determine its angle of incidence.
Solar sensors for z-axes for satellite attitude determination are know per se. The principles of a satellite attitude determination system, wherein the relative position of the sun to the coordinate system of the satellite, amongst other things, is proposed for this purpose, are known from the publication "Spacecraft Attitude Determination and Control" by
James R. Wertz, published by D. Reidel Publishing
Company, 1985. The diagram shown in Figure 1 depicts such an attitude determination system using solar sensors in simplified form. In this figure the "S" represents the vector of the sun, a the angle of the sun vector projection onto the xz-plane to the z-axis and (3 the angle of the sun vector projection on the yzplane to the z-axis.Hence, two solar sensors arranged at an angle of 90" to one another must be used for these angles a and p for attitude determination according to the prior art.
In known solar sensors of the applicant the point at which sunlight entering through an aperture hits a detector strip with 2048 detectors arranged in a row is used to determine the angle of incidence. In order to measure the two angles a and ss, two sensors or sensor heads arranged at 90" are required - as already indicated - and in conjunction with these two detector strips are needed with the appropriate read-out electronics in addition to an electronics pack for the attitude control system.
The object of the present invention is to provide a solar sensor of the aforementioned type, by means of which angles a and ss can be determined with only one sensor and one detector strip.
This object is achieved in accordance with the invention in that a screen having light entry means in the form of a right angle or another specific angle is arranged at a specific distance above an image plane in which the detector strip lies and the angle of incidence of sunlight from the irradiated detectors of one half of the detector strip and the angle of incidence from the irradiated detectors of the other half of the detector strip are scanned simultaneously at the outlet of an electronic read-out system and calculated in a connected electronic analyzer.
An embodiment of the invention in explained in the following description, and this explanation is supplemented by the figures in the drawing, in which:
Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating the attitude determination system using a solar sensor according to the prior art; and
Figure 2 is a schematic perspective view of the structure of an example of a solar sensor for simultaneous determination of angles a and ss.
The invention envisages that angles a and ss may be determined with only one sensor and one detector strip by means of appropriate shaping of the light entry aperture and appropriate arrangement of the detector strip, whereby the previously existing measurement principle may be retained. Hence, the local position or point of impact of light entering through an aperture "S" onto a surface arranged at a distance "a" therefrom is used to determine the angle of incidence.
As previously, light-sensitive detectors arranged in a row at a defined space from one another to form a strip are used to determine the position of impact of the light. There is a wide variety of such arrangements available differing according to number of detectors and mode of operation. To find the irradiated detectors, read-outs of the voltages of all the detectors are taken periodically. This read-out process occurs serially, i.e. voltages of detectors 1 to n, which are proportional to the incidence of light at the corresponding detector, are arranged in time sequence at the outlet point of the electronic read-out of the detector strip.
Such detector strips are either based on photodiodes or on CCDs (charge coupled devices). The present embodiment has a detector strip comprising 4000 individual detectors. The radiation status of each individually numbered detector is scanned at the outlet point of the electronic read-out. An electronic analyzer connected at the outlet then calculates the angle or angles of incidence of the light from the number of irradiated detectors.
As shown in Figure 2, the entry aperture S of the screen is in the form of a right angle. For optimisation, other angles may also be used. When the incidence of light is exactly perpendicular - i.e. the vector of the sun is then perpendicular to the sensor surface (a = 0 , ss = 0 ) - the aperture images irradiate the detectors with the numbers 1000 and 3000.
If the solar rays now hit at a different angle, then this results in a movement of the aperture image in the image plane. In the relevant measurement range - i.e.
in the range of movement of point E of the aperture image on the image plane - the angle of incidence a may be determined from the directly irradiated detector(s) in the range of numbers from 1 to 2000 and the angle of incidence ss from the directly irradiated detectors in the range of numbers from 2001 to 4000. The maximum final values of the measurable angles as well as the angles at the central position - in which detectors 1000 and 3000 are irradiated - result from the geometry of the entry aperture and its disposition relative to the image plane (distance apart, lateral shift) and these factors are structurally adjustable. It is advantageous if the detector strip and its support means are arranged in a common housing together with the electronic read-out system and the electronic analyzer and associated cabling.
Claims (5)
1. A solar sensor for z-axes for satellite attitude determination, in which the point of impact of sunlight entering through an aperture on a detector strip comprising a number of individual sensors is used to determine its angle of incidence, characterised in that a screen having light entry means in the form of a right angle or another specific angle is arranged at a specific distance above an image plane in which the detector strip lies and the angle of incidence of sunlight from the irradiated detectors of one half of the detector strip and the angle of incidence from the irradiated detectors of the other half of the detector strip are scanned simultaneously at the outlet of an electronic read-out system and calculated in a connected electronic analyzer.
2. A solar sensor according to Claim 1 wherein the maximum final value of the measurable angles as well as the angles at the central position (sun vertical to the light entry means) are determined from the geometry of the light entry means, the distance of the light entry means from the image plane and the lateral shift of the light entry means in relation to the image plane.
3. A solar sensor according to Claim 2 wherein the distance of the light entry means from the image plane and its lateral shift in relation to the image plane are adjustable.
4. A solar sensor according to any preceding claim wherein the detector strip and support means therefor are arranged in a common housing together with the electronic read-out system, the electronic analyzer and associated cabling.
5. A solar sensor for z-axes for satellite attitude determination substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figure 2 of the accompanying drawings.
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
DE4214136A DE4214136C2 (en) | 1992-04-29 | 1992-04-29 | Two-axis measuring sun sensor |
Publications (3)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
GB9308671D0 GB9308671D0 (en) | 1993-06-09 |
GB2266634A true GB2266634A (en) | 1993-11-03 |
GB2266634B GB2266634B (en) | 1995-08-16 |
Family
ID=6457755
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
GB9308671A Expired - Fee Related GB2266634B (en) | 1992-04-29 | 1993-04-27 | A solar sensor for z-axes for satellite attitude determination |
Country Status (5)
Country | Link |
---|---|
JP (1) | JP2644961B2 (en) |
DE (1) | DE4214136C2 (en) |
FR (1) | FR2690738B1 (en) |
GB (1) | GB2266634B (en) |
IT (1) | IT1272470B (en) |
Cited By (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
GB2290189A (en) * | 1994-05-27 | 1995-12-13 | Secr Defence Brit | Optical direction finder |
WO2001038896A1 (en) * | 1999-11-19 | 2001-05-31 | Centre For Research In Earth And Space Technology | Sun sensors using multi-pinhole overlays for detection of satellite attitude |
WO2019170836A1 (en) * | 2018-03-07 | 2019-09-12 | Universitetet I Oslo | Light source position sensor |
Families Citing this family (5)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
DE19703629A1 (en) * | 1997-01-31 | 1998-08-06 | Daimler Benz Aerospace Ag | Method for autonomously determining the position of a satellite |
WO1998039827A1 (en) | 1997-03-07 | 1998-09-11 | Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha | Gallium nitride semiconductor light emitting element with active layer having multiplex quantum well structure and semiconductor laser light source device |
DE19727569A1 (en) * | 1997-06-28 | 1999-01-07 | Schaeffler Waelzlager Ohg | Shift drum for a gear change transmission |
DE10052424C1 (en) * | 2000-10-23 | 2002-05-02 | Astrium Gmbh | Arrangement for determining the position of a light source |
CN103234511B (en) * | 2013-04-12 | 2015-04-22 | 北京控制工程研究所 | Miniature long life coding type sun sensor |
Citations (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
GB1550339A (en) * | 1975-08-28 | 1979-08-15 | Elliott Brothers London Ltd | Optical angular position sensors |
GB2059216A (en) * | 1979-09-11 | 1981-04-15 | Elliott Brothers London Ltd | Position measuring |
EP0047084A1 (en) * | 1980-09-02 | 1982-03-10 | Dow Corning Corporation | Solar collection system |
US4999483A (en) * | 1989-03-09 | 1991-03-12 | Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba | Sensor for detecting two dimensional angle of incidence of the sun |
Family Cites Families (9)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US3728715A (en) * | 1970-04-20 | 1973-04-17 | Bendix Corp | Digital sun sensor having sub-image resolution |
US3827807A (en) * | 1972-09-29 | 1974-08-06 | Nasa | Star scanner |
US4377341A (en) * | 1981-03-11 | 1983-03-22 | The United States Of America As Represented By The Secretary Of The Air Force | System for measuring angular deviation in a transparency |
JPS5892927A (en) * | 1981-11-30 | 1983-06-02 | Ricoh Co Ltd | Measuring method for mtf of lens |
JPS6126724A (en) * | 1984-07-18 | 1986-02-06 | Nippon Steel Corp | Manufacture of dead soft base sheet for surface treatment by continuous annealing |
JPS6166117A (en) * | 1984-09-07 | 1986-04-04 | Nec Corp | Solar angle detector |
JPS6273109A (en) * | 1985-09-27 | 1987-04-03 | Toshiba Corp | Solar sensor |
JPS63131022A (en) * | 1986-11-20 | 1988-06-03 | Mitsubishi Electric Corp | Solar sensor |
FR2618909B1 (en) * | 1987-07-31 | 1989-12-01 | Thomson Csf | OPTOELECTRIC DEVICE FOR DETECTION AND LOCATION OF A RADIANT SOURCE |
-
1992
- 1992-04-29 DE DE4214136A patent/DE4214136C2/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
-
1993
- 1993-04-23 IT ITMI930805A patent/IT1272470B/en active IP Right Grant
- 1993-04-27 JP JP5101407A patent/JP2644961B2/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 1993-04-27 GB GB9308671A patent/GB2266634B/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 1993-04-28 FR FR939305026A patent/FR2690738B1/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
Patent Citations (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
GB1550339A (en) * | 1975-08-28 | 1979-08-15 | Elliott Brothers London Ltd | Optical angular position sensors |
GB2059216A (en) * | 1979-09-11 | 1981-04-15 | Elliott Brothers London Ltd | Position measuring |
EP0047084A1 (en) * | 1980-09-02 | 1982-03-10 | Dow Corning Corporation | Solar collection system |
US4999483A (en) * | 1989-03-09 | 1991-03-12 | Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba | Sensor for detecting two dimensional angle of incidence of the sun |
Cited By (6)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
GB2290189A (en) * | 1994-05-27 | 1995-12-13 | Secr Defence Brit | Optical direction finder |
GB2290189B (en) * | 1994-05-27 | 1998-03-04 | Secr Defence Brit | Angle-or-arrival detectors for radiation |
WO2001038896A1 (en) * | 1999-11-19 | 2001-05-31 | Centre For Research In Earth And Space Technology | Sun sensors using multi-pinhole overlays for detection of satellite attitude |
US6490801B1 (en) | 1999-11-19 | 2002-12-10 | Centre For Research In Earth And Space Technology | Sun sensors using multi-pinhole overlays |
WO2019170836A1 (en) * | 2018-03-07 | 2019-09-12 | Universitetet I Oslo | Light source position sensor |
US11988744B2 (en) | 2018-03-07 | 2024-05-21 | Universitetet I Oslo | Light source position sensor |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
JPH0626857A (en) | 1994-02-04 |
DE4214136A1 (en) | 1993-11-04 |
GB2266634B (en) | 1995-08-16 |
FR2690738B1 (en) | 1994-09-16 |
ITMI930805A1 (en) | 1994-10-23 |
ITMI930805A0 (en) | 1993-04-23 |
DE4214136C2 (en) | 1995-09-21 |
IT1272470B (en) | 1997-06-23 |
JP2644961B2 (en) | 1997-08-25 |
GB9308671D0 (en) | 1993-06-09 |
FR2690738A1 (en) | 1993-11-05 |
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Legal Events
Date | Code | Title | Description |
---|---|---|---|
PCNP | Patent ceased through non-payment of renewal fee |
Effective date: 20040427 |