Feasibility of Using GPS Measurements for OMV Attitude Update

Triveni N. Upadhyay, Harley Rhodehamel, A. Wayne Deaton

Abstract:	This paper presents the results of a feasibility study to determine whether the measurements from GPS satellites can be used to estimate the OMV attitude to an accuracy comparable to the onboard sun sensors, i.e,, better than 0.5 degree in each axis. The study was carried out by Mayflower Communications Co., Inc, in support of the OMV Program, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. The results documented in this paper demonstrate that OMV attitude can be estimated to an accuracy of 0.1 - 0.5 degree in each axis by processing GPS measurements in an onboard integrated, 17-state GPS/Inertial navigation filter. The result is particularly significant for missions of short duration burns where accurate attitude information is needed to minimize GN&C errors. It is shown that the GPS attitude technique described in this paper can be easily implemented in the current OMV navigation system design. The results reported in this paper are expected to support the goal of developing a fault-tolerant GN&C system offering an improved total navigation performance for the OMV.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 1988 National Technical Meeting of The Institute of Navigation January 26 - 29, 1988 Santa Barbara, CA
Pages:	194 - 200
Cite this article:	Upadhyay, Triveni N., Rhodehamel, Harley, Deaton, A. Wayne, "Feasibility of Using GPS Measurements for OMV Attitude Update," Proceedings of the 1988 National Technical Meeting of The Institute of Navigation, Santa Barbara, CA, January 1988, pp. 194-200.
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