Observation satellite attitude estimation using sensor measurement and image registration fusion

In order to enhance the accuracy and the robustness of the attitude determination and control system in observation satellites, a new way to fuse gyro and star tracker measurement with image registration is described. In this method, a novel and complete framework is proposed to estimate the on-orbit attitude variations from multi-spectrum remote sensing images. An extended Kalman filter is derived to calibrate the gyro bias drift and the star tracker error. The new framework is tested with realistically simulated data and remote sensing images based on JL-1 satellite. Simulation and experiment results indicate that based on the image registration, the satellite attitude variations could be detected in real time and applied for the accurate gyro and star tracker bias calibration.