SPACE ENGINE WITH SPEED VECTOR ESTIMATING DEVICE AND CORRESPONDING ESTIMATION METHOD

摘要

Spatial machine (1) provided with a device (5) for estimating its speed vector with respect to an inertial reference system. The estimating device (5) comprises a gyrometer (9) for measuring an instantaneous speed vector of rotation of the machine (1) with respect to the inertial reference system, magnetometers (15) for measuring, in a reference frame linked to the apparatus, a magnetic field vector produced by a star and stationary in a reference frame linked to the star and a calculator (20), for estimating the velocity vector by solving an equation connecting the velocity vector to the instantaneous velocity vector of rotation, vector magnetic field, the time derivative and the spatial gradient of the magnetic field vector, the vector position of the spacecraft relative to the center of the inertial reference frame and the vector rotation speed of the frame linked to the star relative to the inertial reference frame .