Attitude Determination of the Gravity Probe B Spacecraft Using GPS Receivers

P. Shestople, J. Li, A. Ndili, A. Parchuri and N. Vora

Abstract:	The Gravity Probe B (GP-B) spacecraft was successfully launched at 9:57:24 PDT on April 20, 2004. The science phase of the mission ended on August 15th, 2005. The experiment will undergo calibrations until the Dewar runs out of helium, causing the temperature of the Gyroscope Readout System to rise above its critical temperature of 7.1 kelvin. As of September 26th, 2005, the GP-B spacecraft has been on-orbit for 524 days. A pair of Stanford University modified Trimble Advanced Navigation System (TANS) Vector III receivers installed on the vehicle have provided position, velocity, and time measurements during the mission. This paper details efforts to use the GPS receivers to determine spacecraft attitude. This paper will also discuss GP-B’s GPS performance during the mission. We conclude with a brief discussion of possible follow-up missions for the GP-B spacecraft.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 18th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GNSS 2005) September 13 - 16, 2005 Long Beach Convention Center Long Beach, CA
Pages:	1167 - 1173
Cite this article:	Shestople, P., Li, J., Ndili, A., Parchuri, A., Vora, N., "Attitude Determination of the Gravity Probe B Spacecraft Using GPS Receivers," Proceedings of the 18th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GNSS 2005), Long Beach, CA, September 2005, pp. 1167-1173.
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