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Investigation Of Navigation Systems For Size, Cost, And Mass Constrained Satellites, Omar Awad
Investigation Of Navigation Systems For Size, Cost, And Mass Constrained Satellites, Omar Awad
USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations
The feasibility of using radically inexpensive micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) technology for navigation of a nanosatellite is investigated with a focus on attitude estimation. Typically, larger satellites are equipped with star cameras, sun sensors, or Earth horizon sensors for attitude estimation. These sensors can provide very accurate attitude measurements. A nanosatellite is highly size, power, and cost constrained and cannot readily accommodate these sensors. Our mission is to design, build, and operate a radically inexpensive nanosatellite system. While there is no consensus on what constitutes a "radically inexpensive" satellite, our goal is a maximum cost of $10,000 per unit. This precludes …