Abstract: | A new method of terrestrial navigation is developed, one that derives position information from laser-induced fluorescence of atomic Sodium in the Earth’s upper atmosphere. This concept has the potential to provide a backup or alternative to GPS and other Global Navigation Satellite System positioning and timing services. This new navigation method uses a camera to observe fluorescing line segments in the Sodium layer that are excited by a guidestar Sodium laser which is commonly used to adjust adaptive optics. The measured directions to points on 4 or more independent guide-star line segments have the potential to determine 3D user position to an accuracy on the order of 10 m or better. The method is insensitive to uncertainty about which point or points along a given guide-star line segment are measured by the system. |
Published in: |
Proceedings of the 31st International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GNSS+ 2018) September 24 - 28, 2018 Hyatt Regency Miami Miami, Florida |
Pages: | 3297 - 3316 |
Cite this article: | Psiaki, Mark L., Flewelling, Brien R., Hackett, Shawn, "Optical Navigation using Sodium Layer Guide Stars, System Definition and Observability," Proceedings of the 31st International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GNSS+ 2018), Miami, Florida, September 2018, pp. 3297-3316. https://doi.org/10.33012/2018.16067 |
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