Aeronautics and astronautics – Spacecraft – With special crew accommodations
Patent
1991-11-27
1993-10-26
Peters, Jr., Joseph F.
Aeronautics and astronautics
Spacecraft
With special crew accommodations
244164, B64G 136
Patent
active
052558797
ABSTRACT:
A method of sun search and acquisition is disclosed for a spacecraft (18) which is stabilized in three axes. The method utilizes three axes gyro rate and integrated rate sensing together with three simple slit type sensors (10, 20, 30, 40). The method starts from an arbitrary attitude and from body rates up to the limits of the gyro rate sensors and is comprised of a rate nulling step followed by two consecutive simple search procedures. One search procedure is about the pitch axis until alignment of the sun with the roll/pitch plane and the other search procedure is about the yaw axis until alignment of the sun with the roll axis. The sun acquisition culminates in pointing the roll axis of the spacecraft (18) toward the sun. By using slit type sun sensors (10, 20, 30, 40) versus a wide field of view sensor it is easier to find a mounting location on a spacecraft (18) which is free from spurious reflections off other parts of the spacecraft.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4358076 (1982-11-01), Lange et al.
patent: 5080307 (1992-01-01), Smay et al.
patent: 5132910 (1992-07-01), Scheit et al.
Faber Thomas D.
Tolmasoff Mike W.
Yocum John F.
Bidwell Anne E.
Denson-Low Wanda
Hughes Aircraft Company
Lindeen III Gordon R.
Peters Jr. Joseph F.
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