Animated visualization of spin-stabilized satellite attitude data

摘要

This paper describes an approach for visualizing the attitude of a spin-stabilized satellite in an interactive manner that enables ground-based satellite analysts to plan attitude maneuvers and determine the actual deviations from planned attitudes in a rapid manner. The approach generates and animates "Quick Look" plots of the predicted attitude measurements on a UNIX workstation. Although this interactive approach was designed originally for attitude verification, it also has proved very useful for attitude maneuver planning. For example, portions of the satellite orbit where attitude maneuvers are not feasible due to sensor constraints can be detected and avoided.