Attitude determination with magnetometers for gun-launched munitions

摘要

A system and method for performing attitude determination for projectiles comprises a projectile; a plurality of magnetometers arranged orthogonally to one another in the projectile, wherein the plurality of magnetometers are adapted to take first flight vector measurements of the projectile; a plurality of angular rate sensors in the projectile and proximate to the plurality of magnetometers, wherein the plurality of angular rate sensors are adapted to take second flight vector measurements of the projectile; a digital signal processor adapted to combine the first and second flight vector measurements to estimate Euler angles associated with a position of the projectile; and a calculator adapted to determine an attitude of the projectile based on the estimated Euler angles. Preferably, the plurality of magnetometers comprises three magnetometers aligned within the projectile, and wherein a first one of the magnetometers is aligned with a spin axis of the projectile.