Satellite-to-satellite imaging in support of LEO optical navigation, using the ASTERIA CubeSat

Brian M. Kennedy; Patrick Doran; Randall S. Hughes; Kyle Hughes; Robert Bocchino; Daniel Lubey; Declan Mages; Lorraine Fesq

doi:10.1117/12.2567794

22 August 2020 Satellite-to-satellite imaging in support of LEO optical navigation, using the ASTERIA CubeSat

Brian M. Kennedy, Patrick Doran, Randall S. Hughes, Kyle Hughes, Robert Bocchino, Daniel Lubey, Declan Mages, Lorraine Fesq

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 11505, CubeSats and SmallSats for Remote Sensing IV; 115050H (2020) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2567794
Event: SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications, 2020, Online Only

Abstract

The Arcsecond Space Telescope Enabling Research in Astrophysics (ASTERIA) was a 6-unit CubeSat technology demonstration mission that was built at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and deployed from the International Space Station (ISS) on November 20^th, 2017. After successfully completing its 90-day primary mission that demonstrated arcsecond-level line-of-sight pointing and focal plane thermal stability for exoplanet detection, it entered an extended mission performing onboard software demonstrations alongside science until end of mission in December 2019. At the end of its lifetime it was being used as a demonstration platform for several experiments, including low earth orbit (LEO) optical navigation operations. With its visible light astrometric camera and stable attitude control system, the ASTERIA spacecraft showed itself to be a capable platform for the imaging of geosynchronous satellites from LEO. This paper will describe the imagery attained in flight and also the image processing algorithms that were developed to render that imagery into navigation quality data. These algorithms dealt with hot pixel filtering, noise modeling, attitude registration, star signal rejection and satellite signal identification. Brightness prediction algorithms used for target selection will also be discussed.

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Brian M. Kennedy, Patrick Doran, Randall S. Hughes, Kyle Hughes, Robert Bocchino, Daniel Lubey, Declan Mages, and Lorraine Fesq "Satellite-to-satellite imaging in support of LEO optical navigation, using the ASTERIA CubeSat", Proc. SPIE 11505, CubeSats and SmallSats for Remote Sensing IV, 115050H (22 August 2020); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2567794

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