Development of attitude determination unit using omni-directional camera for micro and nano satellites

Research Project

Project/Area Number	16K06882
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
Allocation Type	Multi-year Fund
Section	一般
Research Field	Aerospace engineering
Research Institution	Tohoku University
Principal Investigator	Sakamoto Yuji 東北大学, 工学研究科, 特任准教授 (50431523)
Project Period (FY)	2016-04-01 – 2019-03-31
Project Status	Completed (Fiscal Year 2018)
Budget Amount *help	¥4,810,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,700,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,110,000) Fiscal Year 2018: ¥1,300,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,000,000、Indirect Cost: ¥300,000) Fiscal Year 2017: ¥2,080,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,600,000、Indirect Cost: ¥480,000) Fiscal Year 2016: ¥1,430,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥330,000)
Keywords	超小型衛星 / 姿勢決定 / 全方位カメラ / 画像解析 / キューブサット / 航空宇宙システム / 衛星姿勢決定
Outline of Final Research Achievements	In this research, a prototype model of attitude determination unit with omni-directional camera for nanosatellites and cubesats was developed and evaluated in ground environment. The model is consist of an imaging sensor and a FPGA board. Single imaging sensor can observe the shape of Earth, Sun, and Moon, then the image can be processed in satellite onboard unit. Three-axis attitude determination can be achieved both in daytime and eclipse phases. The target precision is less than 0.1 degrees, which is equivalent to low-end star sensors. Nanosatellites have limited resources in mass, volume, and power. The new sensor can be advanced technology by solving these restrictions.
Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements	ナノサットおよびマイクロサットの開発と軌道投入は、世界中で爆発的に急増している。衛星にとって姿勢決定・制御機能は、撮像センサを目的の方向に向けるために重要である。スターセンサは体積的リソースを必要とするため、代替となる確度0.1度程度の性能を有する姿勢センサは需要が高い。本分野では、価格が安くて小型・先進機能を持つ最新の地上製品を宇宙活用する例が多い。宇宙用途に特化する部分は、FPGAやCPUによるソフトウェアで補完可能であり、短時間・低コストに問題を解決できる。