Yaw Determination using Sun-Vector and Earth Sensor

摘要

The earth sensor in geo-stationary satellites gives instantaneous roll and pitch axes information. Yaw is indirectly controlled through a roll yaw coupling over an orbit. An additional sun sensor enables realisation of the sun vector in the satellite internal coordinate system. This paper proposes a simple algorithm for obtaining instantaneous yaw in closed form. It uses the attitude information from the earth scan sensor and the sun vector measurement to explicitly determine the yaw over an orbit of a satellite.