Testing Results of the X-38 Crew Return Vehicle GPS Receiver

James Simpson, Charles Campbell, E. Glenn Lightsey and Larry Jackson

Abstract:	The X-38 Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) utilizes a Space Integrated GPS/INS (SIGI) sensor to obtain navigation and attitude knowledge. Testing and analysis at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Guidance, Navigation, and Control's GPS Lab was conducted in order to validate the development of SIGI GPS receiver attitude firmware. The modifications to the International Space Station (ISS) SIGI receiver that were completed to meet the CRV requirements will be presented. The CRV is designed to be used as a life-boat in case of an emergency evacuation from the ISS. The need to return the ISS crew in a timely manner places challenging performance requirements on the SIGI sensor. This paper will summarize the performance of the SIGI GPS receiver for the CRV. The ability to track the GPS sig- nals at any initial attitude and the performance of the SIGI GPS-only solution during reentry are detailed in this paper. A discussion regarding the use of the Global Simulation Systems GPS Signal Generator in testing the SIGI sensor will provide insight into the GPS validation process used at NASA Goddard.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 13th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GPS 2000) September 19 - 22, 2000 Salt Palace Convention Center Salt Lake City, UT
Pages:	2038 - 2046
Cite this article:	Simpson, James, Campbell, Charles, Lightsey, E. Glenn, Jackson, Larry, "Testing Results of the X-38 Crew Return Vehicle GPS Receiver," Proceedings of the 13th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GPS 2000), Salt Lake City, UT, September 2000, pp. 2038-2046.
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