Development of a low-cost multi-camera star tracker for small satellites

This thesis presents a novel small satellite star tracker that uses an array of low-cost, off the shelf imaging sensors to achieve high accuracy attitude determination performance. The theoretical analysis of improvements in star detectability achieved by stacking images from multiple cameras is presented. An image processing algorithm is developed to combine images from multiple cameras with arbitrary focal lengths, principal point offsets, distortions, and misalignments. The star tracker also implements other algorithms including the region growing algorithm, the intensity weighted centroid algorithm, the geometric voting algorithm for star identification, and the singular value decomposition algorithm for attitude determination. A star tracker software simulator is used to test the algorithms by generating star images with sensor noises, lens defocusing, and lens distortion. A hardware prototype is being assembled for eventual night sky testing to verify simulated performance levels. Star tracker flight hardware is being developed in the Laboratory for Advanced Space Systems at Illinois (LASSI) at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign for future CubeSat missions.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.S.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Aerospace Engineering

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2020

Author dc:creator

• Zhao, Hongrui

Contributors dc:contributor

• Lembeck, Michael F

• Star Tracker
• Attitude Determination and Control

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2020 Hongrui Zhao

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/108522

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F108522