Method and apparatus for rotational rate determination using a stellar reference
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A system for determining the rate of rotation of a rotating satellite, said system comprising:
- imaging means, located on the satellite, for recording first and second images of a celestial sphere, at first and second points in time, respectively; and
processing means, associated with said imaging means, for determining a relative movement of the satellite between said first and second points in time by determining a difference between said first and second images.
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Abstract
A method and apparatus for determining the rate of rotation of a rotating satellite 10 utilizing an imaging device 12 located on the satellite. The imaging device takes a first celestial sphere image view 22 at a first point in time and takes a second celestial image view 26 at a second point in time. The difference between the first and second images 30, differentiated over the time between the taking of the first and second images, is used to determine the rate of rotation of the satellite 32.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. A system for determining the rate of rotation of a rotating satellite, said system comprising:
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imaging means, located on the satellite, for recording first and second images of a celestial sphere, at first and second points in time, respectively; and processing means, associated with said imaging means, for determining a relative movement of the satellite between said first and second points in time by determining a difference between said first and second images. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method for determining the rate of rotation of a rotating satellite, said method including:
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focusing a first celestial sphere view onto an imaging device located on the satellite at a first period of time, recording an image of the first celestial sphere on the image device; focusing a second celestial sphere view onto said imaging device at a second period of time, recording an image of the second celestial sphere on the image device; and comparing said second and first recorded images to determine a relative movement of the satellite between said first and second periods of time. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method for determining the relative rotation of a rotating satellite over a period in time, said method including:
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recording a first celestial sphere image at the beginning of the period in time; recording a second celestial sphere image at the end of the period in time; and determining the relative rotation over the period in time by determining the difference between said first and second recorded images. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17)
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Specification