Laser terminal attitude determination via autonomous star tracking

William W. Chapman; Michael W. Fitzmaurice

doi:10.1117/12.43760

1 June 1991 Laser terminal attitude determination via autonomous star tracking

William W. Chapman, Michael W. Fitzmaurice

Proceedings Volume 1417, Free-Space Laser Communication Technologies III; (1991) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.43760
Event: Optics, Electro-Optics, and Laser Applications in Science and Engineering, 1991, Los Angeles, CA, United States

Abstract

Freespace laser communication systems require an initial spatial acquisition process to coalign the cooperating terminal line of sites (typically to sub-microrad accuracy). The complexity and time required for this process can grow dramatically with the size of the host platform(s) initial uncertainty field-of-view. The feasibility of significantly refining the laser terminal attitude knowledge prior to the initiation of the spatial acquisition process via a preliminary star tracking operation is addressed. It is shown that currently planned laser terminal designs are capable of supporting this star tracking function with minimal hardware augmentation. An analysis of stellar spectral irradiance is presented which enables the computation of the tracking noise equivalent angle versus stellar class and visual magnitude.

Citation Download Citation

William W. Chapman and Michael W. Fitzmaurice "Laser terminal attitude determination via autonomous star tracking", Proc. SPIE 1417, Free-Space Laser Communication Technologies III, (1 June 1991); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.43760

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