star identification is one of the most important stages in attitude determination with star trackers. this can be performed using matching algorithms between observed stars and a master star catalogue. the main challenge in this approach is to provide a fast and reliable identification algorithm that is sufficiently robust in different pointing views of the star tracker optical system in the sp...

We describe our Intelligent Star Tracker System. The Intelligent Star Tracker System incorporates an adaptive optic catadioptric telescope in a silicon carbide housing. Leveraging off of our active optic technologies, the novel active pixel position sensors (APPS) enable wide dynamic range and allows simultaneous imagery of faint and bright stars in a single image. Moreover, the APPS, in conjun...

Under highly dynamic conditions, the star-spots on the image sensor of a star tracker move across many pixels during the exposure time, which will reduce star detection sensitivity and increase star location errors. However, this kind of effect can be compensated well by setting an appropriate exposure time. This paper focuses on how exposure time affects the star tracker under highly dynamic c...

The star tracker is a high-accuracy attitude measurement device widely used in spacecraft. Its performance depends largely on the precision of the optical system parameters. Therefore, the analysis of the optical system parameter errors and a precise calibration model are crucial to the accuracy of the star tracker. Research in this field is relatively lacking a systematic and universal analysi...

A new method for star identification based on using planar triangles is developed and compared to a standard angle method approach. The angle method creates angles between stars within the field of view of a star tracker and matches them to angles in a catalog to determine which stars make them up. The new method creates triangles from the stars within the field of view of a star tracker, deter...

We present the design and performance analysis of a new integrated track reconstruction code developed for the STAR experiment at RHIC. The code is meant to replace multiple previous tracker codes written in FORTRAN many years ago, and to readily enable integration of new and varied detector components. The new tracker is written from the ground up in C++ using a strong object -oriented model. ...

The performance of a star tracker is largely based on the availability of its attitude solution. Several methods exist to assess star tracker availability under both static and dynamic imaging conditions. However, these methods typically make various idealizations that can limit the accuracy of these results. This study aims to increase the fidelity of star tracker availability modeling by acco...

This article presents the concept and estimates of the pointing-knowledge accuracy of a star tracker-based acquisition, tracking, and pointing system. The major advantages of this technology are (1) no requirement for a costly groundbased laser beacon, (2) a large mission range beyond the solar system, and (3) a heritage of mature star tracker technology. The key concept is to combine highaccur...