Stand and real-conditions testing of an autonomous optical navigation system for operations in circumlunar orbits

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Abstract

Stand testing of an autonomous optical navigation system for operation in circumlunar orbits and during Earth-Moon transfer was performed. The system includes a wide-angle navigation camera for estimation of spacecraft position using observations of the planet’s horizon and of ground control points on its surface, a narrow-angle navigation camera for refinement the SC position using ground control points in higher resolution images, and two star trackers for determination of system orientation. The navigation software was also tested using the image of the lunar surface obtained by the television system STS-L installed on the Luna-25 spacecraft. All the control points from the developed catalog that were located in the imaged area were confidently recognized. The diversion in the spacecraft coordinates as obtained from the optical navigation measurements and from the ballistic forecast was within the expected measurement and forecast errors.

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About the authors

B. S. Zhukov

Space Research Institute

Author for correspondence.
Email: bzhukov@mail.ru
Russian Federation, Moscow

G. A. Avanesov

Space Research Institute

Email: bzhukov@mail.ru
Russian Federation, Moscow

A. S. Liskiv

Space Research Institute

Email: bzhukov@mail.ru
Russian Federation, Moscow

P. S. Smetanin

Space Research Institute

Email: bzhukov@mail.ru
Russian Federation, Moscow

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2. Fig. 1. Stand for testing the autonomous optical navigation technology: top – the SHNK stand (left) and its projection part (right): 1) control computer monitors, 2) optical projector, 3) screen, 4) SHNK optical head (covered with a black blanket); bottom: left – the projection part of the UNK stand with a projection monitor (1) and a collimator lens (2), right – the recording part of the UNK stand with an optical head (3)

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3. Fig. 2. Examples of SHNK (left) and UNK (right) images obtained on the stand from an altitude of 200 km; the selected horizon points on the SHNK image and the control points on the SHNK and UNK images are marked in yellow

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4. Fig. 3. Errors ΔN, ΔB, ΔR of the bench measurements of the spacecraft coordinates using the SHNK along the horizon in circumlunar polar orbits at altitudes of 70, 100, 200, 400 and 800 km

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5. Fig. 4. Errors ΔN, ΔB, ΔR of the bench measurements of the spacecraft coordinates using the SHNK by control points in circumlunar polar orbits at altitudes of 70, 100 and 200 km

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6. Fig. 5. Errors ΔN, ΔB of the bench measurements of the spacecraft coordinates using the UNK by control points in circumlunar polar orbits at altitudes of 200, 400 and 800 km

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7. Fig. 6. The image of the lunar surface obtained on 17.VIII.2023 by the KAM-S/STS-L camera. The white nested squares show the found control points at three resolution levels of their reference images

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