In this paper several approaches for on-orbit calibration of a star tracker camera for the EO-3 GIFTS mission (2004) are presented. For this mission a well-calibrated star camera will be required in order to estimate attitude to within design requirements. A first order calibration involves the determination of the principal point offsets (x_O, Y_O) and best effective focal length of the camera. This process is necessary, but not sufficient to provide a highly accurate camera calibration. Therefore, this paper explores approaches for the estimation of higher order focal plane distorting effects. We present algorithmic numerical stability and convergence, and summarize health monitoring features required for an autonomous system.
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