METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR SPACECRAFT POWER ACQUISITION USING SINGLE-AXIS SLIT SUN SENSOR

• Main Authors: BENDER DOUGLAS J, MANSOUR SADEK W, WANG HANCHING GRANT
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 12.06.2008
• Subjects: AIRCRAFT; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION ORRERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; MEASURING; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; PHYSICS; RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; TESTING; TRANSPORTING; VEHICLES OR EQUIPMENT THEREFOR

A method for spacecraft power acquisition is provided using single-axis slit sun sensors for both wing-stowed and wing-deployed spacecraft configurations. The method for wing-deployed spacecraft includes initializing a solar wing of the spacecraft to search for sun; rotating the spacecraft about a search axis substantially parallel to a slit sun sensor field of view; monitoring the slit sun sensor for a time of arrival signal; and wherein, if the time of arrival signal occurs, the spacecraft is rotated along the search axis to an orientation where the time of arrival signal occurred and the spacecraft is placed in stable rotation about an axis substantially parallel to a solar wing longitudinal axis; and for a non-occurrence of the time of arrival signal, the spacecraft is slewed about a keyhole axis substantially perpendicular to the search axis to move the sun away from a keyhole.