Pointing and tracking experiment for earth orbital missions
Abstract
The goal of the pointing and tracking experiment is to demonstrate the feasibility of genetric feature identification, acquisition, and tracking and to provide pointing commands to the pointing mount system for science data acquisition. Such earth observation missions as mineral exploration survey, timber volume inventory, U.S. census, urban air pollution monitoring, and soil moisture survey are considered together with sensors to be used. Also discussed are pointing and stability requirements, and it is shown that a pointing capability of 0.05 degrees can satisfy most of the sensor pointing requirements while 0.5 degree accuracy provided by the on-board navigation system meets the requirements of the earth resources mission sensors only. The Feature Identification and Location Experiment is described as a development program which will provide a technology base for adaptive and autonomous sensor systems for future earth observation missions. The achievable benefits include reduction in the NASA data management problem and the automated control of Shuttle pointing mounts.
- Publication:
-
Joint Automatic Control Conference
- Pub Date:
- 1979
- Bibcode:
- 1979auco.conf..246S
- Keywords:
-
- Earth Observations (From Space);
- Pointing Control Systems;
- Remote Sensors;
- Stabilization;
- Target Acquisition;
- Tracking (Position);
- Data Acquisition;
- Earth Resources Shuttle Imaging Radar;
- Mission Planning;
- Multispectral Band Cameras;
- Space Shuttle Payloads;
- Spacecraft Control;
- Thematic Mapping;
- User Requirements;
- Spacecraft Instrumentation