Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

An Application Of The Unscented Kalman Filter For Spacecraft Attitude Estimation On Real And Simulated Light Curve Data, Kent A. Rush

Master's Theses

In the past, analyses of lightcurve data have been applied to asteroids in order to determine their axis of rotation, rotation rate and other parameters. In recent decades, these analyses have begun to be applied in the domain of Earth orbiting spacecraft. Due to the complex geometry of spacecraft and the wide variety of parameters that can influence the way in which they reflect light, these analyses require more complex assumptions and a greater knowledge about the object being studied. Previous investigations have shown success in extracting attitude parameters from unresolved spacecraft using simulated data. This paper presents a focused …