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General Definition of Relative Misalignment

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Abstract

It is well known that if misalignments are modeled at all attitude sensors on a spacecraft, which may include the gyro, a linear combination of misalignments is unobservable. Typically one sensor (called the primary, master, or body reference sensor) is not parameterized with misalignments so that the remaining misalignments are fully observable. Another parameterization is to model the misalignment of two sensors as being equal and opposite in direction. In this paper we examine various misalignment models used to calibrate the alignment of spacecraft attitude sensors and gyros, and we discuss the pros and cons of each. We present a general formula for eliminating the unobservable misalignment.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Aerospace Control Systems LLC, 35215 Greyfriar Drive, Round Hill, Virginia, 20141-2395

    Mark E. Pittelkau (Consultant)

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  1. Mark E. Pittelkau
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Correspondence to Mark E. Pittelkau.

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Presented at the F. Landis Markley Astronautics Symposium, Cambridge, Maryland, June 29–July 2, 2008.

Copyright © 2008 by the author. Permission to publish granted to The American Astronautical Society.

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Pittelkau, M.E. General Definition of Relative Misalignment. J of Astronaut Sci 57, 191–205 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03321501

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03321501

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