Flight Results of ESTCube-1 Attitude Determination System

This paper presents the characterization and in-orbit validation of the ESTCube-1 attitude determination system (ADS). ESTCube-1 is a one-unit CubeSat built by students and launched on May 7, 2013, to a Sun-synchronous, 700-km, polar low Earth orbit. Its primary mission is to centrifugally deploy a tether as a part of the first in-orbit demonstration of electric solar wind sail (i.e., E-sail) technology. The ADS uses magnetometers, gyroscopic sensors, Sun sensors, and an unscented Kalman filter for attitude determination. Here the performance of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) sensors and results from tuning the system is shared; recalibration, software, and Kalman filter adjustments. The system is validated by comparing the attitude determined by the on-board ADS with the attitude determined from on-board camera images. Uncertainty budgets for both attitude determination methods are estimated. The expanded uncertainty of comparison (95% confidence level, k=2) is 1.75° and the maximum difference between attitudes determined by both methods is 1.43°.

• Record URL:
  https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)AS.1943-5525.0000504
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/08931321
• Supplemental Notes:
  • © 2015 American Society of Civil Engineers.
• Authors:
  • Slavinskis, Andris
  • Ehrpais, Hendrik
  • Kuuste, Henri
  • Sünter, Indrek
  • Viru, Jaan
  • Kütt, Johan
  • Kulu, Erik
  • Noorma, Mart
• Publication Date: 2016-1

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Web
• Features: References;
• Pagination: 04015014
• Serial:
  • Journal of Aerospace Engineering
  • Volume: 29
  • Issue Number: 1
  • Publisher: American Society of Civil Engineers
  • ISSN: 0893-1321
  • EISSN: 1943-5525
  • Serial URL: http://ascelibrary.org/journal/jaeeez

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Artificial satellites; Flight attitude; Kalman filtering; Sensors
• Uncontrolled Terms: Solar wind
• Subject Areas: Aviation; Vehicles and Equipment; I90: Vehicles;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01561482
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, ASCE
• Created Date: Apr 27 2015 9:49AM