Optical Navigation for Interplanetary CubeSats
Stephen R. Schwartz, Shota Ichikawa, Pranay Gankidi, Nalik Kenia,, Graham Dektorand Jekan Thangavelautham

TL;DR
This paper proposes an optical navigation technology for interplanetary CubeSats, enabling autonomous targeting and orbit insertion around small bodies like Phobos despite initial positional uncertainties.
Contribution
It introduces a novel optical navigation approach combining epicyclic orbit search and optical flow tracking for small-body rendezvous by CubeSats.
Findings
Preliminary simulations support the feasibility of the optical navigation method.
The approach can handle 2-5 km initial uncertainties in target location.
Star occlusion can aid in detecting dim small bodies.
Abstract
CubeSats and small satellites are emerging as low-cost tools for performing science and exploration in deep space. These new classes of satellite exploit the latest advancement in miniaturization of electronics, power systems, and communication technologies to promise reduced launch cost and development cadence. JPL's MarCO CubeSats, part of the Mars Insight mission, will head on an Earth escape trajectory to Mars in 2018 and serve as communication relays for the Mars Insight Lander during Entry, Descent and Landing. Incremental advancements to the MarCO CubeSats, particularly in propulsion and GNC, could enable these spacecraft to get to another planet or to Near Earth Objects. This can have substantial science return with the right science instrument. We have developed an interplanetary CubeSat concept that includes onboard green monopropellant propulsion system and that can get into…
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Taxonomy
TopicsSpacecraft Design and Technology · Spacecraft Dynamics and Control · Astro and Planetary Science
