On-orbit Calibration Method for Star Sensor Aided by SINS

During flight, because of the external temperature and ground calibration precision, the star sensor has a large installation error, which would seriously affect the attitude precision of the star sensor. In order to improve the accuracy of the star sensor, strict on-orbit calibration and correction of the installation error is the key to ensure the measurement accuracy of the star sensor. In this paper, SINS assisted on-orbit calibration method is proposed, the attitude information of SINS/star sensor is registered, the Kalman filtering model of integrated navigation system is constructed. The installation error of the star sensor can be calibrated online in real time only by the simple shake wing during flight. Simulation results show that this method can make the overall estimated rate of installation error between SINS and star sensor reach above 95%, and has high engineering application value.

This article investigates the method of calibrating the installation error angle between star sensors and inertial navigation using SINS during spacecraft flight. The attitude information output by SINS/star sensor was registered, and a Kalman filtering model for SINS/star sensor integrated navigation system was constructed, and the algorithm was mathematically simulated. Using the online calibration method provided in this article, the installation error angle between the star sensor and the inertial navigation system can be quickly estimated after the aircraft performs two axial angular maneuvers. The convergence speed and estimation accuracy are related to the amplitude of the aircraft’s maneuvers. Due to the different accuracy of star sensors corresponding to different angular rates, appropriate angular rates should be selected to prolong the maneuvering time as much as possible and quickly and accurately estimate the installation error angle of star sensors. This method effectively ensures the pose accuracy of the star sensor and has good theoretical research and engineering application value.