In-Orbit Attitude Determination of the UVSQ-SAT CubeSat Using TRIAD and MEKF Methods

Ultraviolet and infrared sensors at high quantum efficiency on-board a small satellite (UVSQ-SAT) is a CubeSat dedicated to the observation of the Earth and the Sun. This satellite has been in orbit since January 2021. It measures the Earth’s outgoing shortwave and longwave radiations. The satellite...

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Autores principales:	Adrien Finance, Christophe Dufour, Thomas Boutéraon, Alain Sarkissian, Antoine Mangin, Philippe Keckhut, Mustapha Meftah
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	MDPI AG 2021
Materias:	CubeSat attitude determination TRIAD Kalman filter climate Chemical technology TP1-1185
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/e89de731f5c947a095e6d59f90bf69f9
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:e89de731f5c947a095e6d59f90bf69f92021-11-11T19:18:09ZIn-Orbit Attitude Determination of the UVSQ-SAT CubeSat Using TRIAD and MEKF Methods10.3390/s212173611424-8220https://doaj.org/article/e89de731f5c947a095e6d59f90bf69f92021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/21/21/7361https://doaj.org/toc/1424-8220Ultraviolet and infrared sensors at high quantum efficiency on-board a small satellite (UVSQ-SAT) is a CubeSat dedicated to the observation of the Earth and the Sun. This satellite has been in orbit since January 2021. It measures the Earth’s outgoing shortwave and longwave radiations. The satellite does not have an active pointing system. To improve the accuracy of the Earth’s radiative measurements and to resolve spatio-temporal fluctuations as much as possible, it is necessary to have a good knowledge of the attitude of the UVSQ-SAT CubeSat. The attitude determination of small satellites remains a challenge, and UVSQ-SAT represents a real and unique example to date for testing and validating different methods to improve the in-orbit attitude determination of a CubeSat. This paper presents the flight results of the UVSQ-SAT’s attitude determination. The Tri-Axial Attitude Determination (TRIAD) method was used, which represents one of the simplest solutions to the spacecraft attitude determination problem. Another method based on the Multiplicative Extended Kalman Filter (MEKF) was used to improve the results obtained with the TRIAD method. In sunlight, the CubeSat attitude is determined at an accuracy better than 3<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msup><mrow></mrow><mo>°</mo></msup></semantics></math></inline-formula> (at one <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mi>σ</mi></semantics></math></inline-formula>) for both methods. During eclipses, the accuracy of the TRIAD method is 14<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msup><mrow></mrow><mo>°</mo></msup></semantics></math></inline-formula>, while it reaches 10<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msup><mrow></mrow><mo>°</mo></msup></semantics></math></inline-formula> (at one <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mi>σ</mi></semantics></math></inline-formula>) for the recursive MEKF method. Many future satellites could benefit from these studies in order to validate methods and configurations before launch.Adrien FinanceChristophe DufourThomas BoutéraonAlain SarkissianAntoine ManginPhilippe KeckhutMustapha MeftahMDPI AGarticleCubeSat attitude determinationTRIADKalman filterclimateChemical technologyTP1-1185ENSensors, Vol 21, Iss 7361, p 7361 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	CubeSat attitude determination TRIAD Kalman filter climate Chemical technology TP1-1185
spellingShingle	CubeSat attitude determination TRIAD Kalman filter climate Chemical technology TP1-1185 Adrien Finance Christophe Dufour Thomas Boutéraon Alain Sarkissian Antoine Mangin Philippe Keckhut Mustapha Meftah In-Orbit Attitude Determination of the UVSQ-SAT CubeSat Using TRIAD and MEKF Methods
description	Ultraviolet and infrared sensors at high quantum efficiency on-board a small satellite (UVSQ-SAT) is a CubeSat dedicated to the observation of the Earth and the Sun. This satellite has been in orbit since January 2021. It measures the Earth’s outgoing shortwave and longwave radiations. The satellite does not have an active pointing system. To improve the accuracy of the Earth’s radiative measurements and to resolve spatio-temporal fluctuations as much as possible, it is necessary to have a good knowledge of the attitude of the UVSQ-SAT CubeSat. The attitude determination of small satellites remains a challenge, and UVSQ-SAT represents a real and unique example to date for testing and validating different methods to improve the in-orbit attitude determination of a CubeSat. This paper presents the flight results of the UVSQ-SAT’s attitude determination. The Tri-Axial Attitude Determination (TRIAD) method was used, which represents one of the simplest solutions to the spacecraft attitude determination problem. Another method based on the Multiplicative Extended Kalman Filter (MEKF) was used to improve the results obtained with the TRIAD method. In sunlight, the CubeSat attitude is determined at an accuracy better than 3<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msup><mrow></mrow><mo>°</mo></msup></semantics></math></inline-formula> (at one <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mi>σ</mi></semantics></math></inline-formula>) for both methods. During eclipses, the accuracy of the TRIAD method is 14<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msup><mrow></mrow><mo>°</mo></msup></semantics></math></inline-formula>, while it reaches 10<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msup><mrow></mrow><mo>°</mo></msup></semantics></math></inline-formula> (at one <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mi>σ</mi></semantics></math></inline-formula>) for the recursive MEKF method. Many future satellites could benefit from these studies in order to validate methods and configurations before launch.
format	article
author	Adrien Finance Christophe Dufour Thomas Boutéraon Alain Sarkissian Antoine Mangin Philippe Keckhut Mustapha Meftah
author_facet	Adrien Finance Christophe Dufour Thomas Boutéraon Alain Sarkissian Antoine Mangin Philippe Keckhut Mustapha Meftah
author_sort	Adrien Finance
title	In-Orbit Attitude Determination of the UVSQ-SAT CubeSat Using TRIAD and MEKF Methods
title_short	In-Orbit Attitude Determination of the UVSQ-SAT CubeSat Using TRIAD and MEKF Methods
title_full	In-Orbit Attitude Determination of the UVSQ-SAT CubeSat Using TRIAD and MEKF Methods
title_fullStr	In-Orbit Attitude Determination of the UVSQ-SAT CubeSat Using TRIAD and MEKF Methods
title_full_unstemmed	In-Orbit Attitude Determination of the UVSQ-SAT CubeSat Using TRIAD and MEKF Methods
title_sort	in-orbit attitude determination of the uvsq-sat cubesat using triad and mekf methods
publisher	MDPI AG
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/e89de731f5c947a095e6d59f90bf69f9
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In-Orbit Attitude Determination of the UVSQ-SAT CubeSat Using TRIAD and MEKF Methods

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