Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-lnqnp Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-18T15:47:15.572Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

A novel pulsar-based template-independent navigation method

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 August 2022

Zhize Li
Affiliation:
College of Aerospace Science and Engineering, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha, China
Wei Zheng*
Affiliation:
College of Aerospace Science and Engineering, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha, China
Yusong Wang
Affiliation:
College of Aerospace Science and Engineering, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha, China
*
*Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract

Because of the high photon flux, the Crab nebula pulsar is widely used as the observation target for X-ray pulsar-based navigation. The built profile of the Crab pulsar will change over time, however, which means that the pre-calibrated template cannot be used for the long term. In this paper, a novel pulsar-based template-independent navigation method is proposed. The detected phase propagation model is given as a term of position of the vehicle, taking the orbital motion into account. A different method of time-of-arrival process between the recovered profiles is introduced. With the aid of orbital transition matrix, a measurement model is derived to be a term of velocity error of the vehicle varying with time. The state errors of the vehicle are transformed into velocity errors by performing multi-segment observations to achieve the navigation system observability. The navigation equations of the system are then established and can be solved directly. Some simulations are performed to verify the method and suggest that the proposed method is feasible, effective and easy to implement. The precise orbit information of the vehicle can be determined. The state estimation accuracy is basically consistent with the traditional filtering algorithms, and the computational cost is still very low.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Royal Institute of Navigation

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Chester, T. J. and Butman, S. A. (1981). Navigation Using X-Ray Pulsars. Washington, Pasadena, CA: NASA. Oct. 22–25.Google Scholar
Emadzadeh, A. A. (2009). Relative Navigation Between Two Spacecraft Using X-Ray Pulsars. Los Angeles, CA: University of California.Google Scholar
Emadzadeh, A. A. and Speyer, J. L. (2011a). Navigation in Space by X-ray Pulsars. London: Springer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Emadzadeh, A. A. and Speyer, J. L. (2011b). X-ray pulsar-based relative navigation using epoch folding. IEEE Transactions on Aerospace and Electronic Systems, 47, 23172328.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Golshan, R. and Sheikh, S. (2008). On Pulse Phase Estimation and Tracking of Variable Celestial X-Ray Sources. San Diego, CA: Institute of Navigation, pp. 101109.Google Scholar
Hang, Q. S. and Hang, J. S. (2003). Genetic algorithm for solving ill-conditioned linear system. Mathematics in Practice and Theory, 33, 97100.Google Scholar
Hanson, J. E. (1996). Principles of X-Ray Navigation. Stanford, CA: Stanford University.Google Scholar
Huang, L. W., Liang, B. and Zhang, T. (2013). Pulse phase and Doppler frequency estimation of X-ray pulsars under conditions of spacecraft and binary motion and its application in navigation. Science in China Series G: Physics, Mechanics & Astronomy, 56, 848858.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kennedy, J. and Eberhart, R. (1995). Particle Swam Optimization. Proceedings of ICNN’95 - International Conference on Neural Networks, Perth, WA, Australia, 1942–1948.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Li, F. P. (2015). Research on Spacecraft Autonomous Navigation Using X-ray Pulsars. Harbin, China: Harbin Engineering University.Google Scholar
Li, J. X. and Ke, X. Z. (2011). Maximum-likelihood TOA estimation of X-ray pulsar signals on the basis of Poisson model. Chinese Astronomy and Astrophysics, 35, 1928.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Liu, L. (1992). Artificial Earth Satellite Orbital Dynamics. Beijing: High Education Press.Google Scholar
Lyne, A. and Graham-Smith, F. (2005). Pulsar Astronomy (3rd ed.). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Shuai, P., Chen, S. L., Wu, Y. F., Zhang, C. C. and Li, M. (2006). Technology and prospect analysis of X-ray pulsar navigation. Aerospace, 10, 2732.Google Scholar
Song, F. N., Zhang, M. J., Zheng, Q. Y., Jin, J. and Pan, X. (2009). X-ray detectors in pulsars-based navigation system. Journal of Chinese Inertial Technology, 16, 682686.Google Scholar
Storn, R. and Price, K. (2006). Differential Evolution—A Simple and Efficient Adaptive Scheme for Global Optimization Over Continuous Space. Berkeley, CA: University of California.Google Scholar
Sun, F. H., Bao, M. W., Fang, Y. H. and Li, P. X. (2014). Effect of stability of X-ray pulsar profiles on range measurement accuracy in X-ray pulsar navigation. Acta Physica Sinica, 63, 069701.Google Scholar
Wang, D. Y. (2016). X-Ray Pulsar-Based Navigation: Signal Processing and Positioning Algorithms. Changsha, China: National University of Defense Technology.Google Scholar
Wang, Y. D. and Zheng, W. (2016a). Pulsar phase and Doppler frequency estimation for XNAV using on-orbit epoch folding. IEEE Transactions on Aerospace and Electronic Systems, 2, 315333.Google Scholar
Wang, Y. D. and Zheng, W. (2016b). Pulse phase estimation of X-ray pulsar with the aid of spacecraft orbital dynamics. Journal of Navigation, 69, 414432.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Winternitz, L. M. B., Hassouneh, M. A., Mitchell, J. W., Valdez, J. E., Price, S. R., Semper, S. R., Yu, W. H., Ray, P. S., Wood, K. S., Arzoumanian, Z. and Gendreau, K. C. (2015). X-ray pulsar navigation algorithms and testbed for SEXTANT. Aerospace Conference, 4, 114.Google Scholar
Xue, F. M., Peng, L. D., Sun, H. F., Shentu, H., Guo, Y. F., Luo, J. and Chen, Z. K. (2021). X-ray pulsar navigation based on two-stage estimation of Doppler frequency and phase delay. Aerospace Science and Technology, 110, 106470.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhang, B. H. (2015). Theories and Methods of Spacecraft Orbital Mechanics. Beijing, China: National Defense Industry Press.Google Scholar
Zhang, N. S. (2018a). The X-Ray Luminosity of the Crab Pulsar Does not Follow its Spin-Down Power During its Largest Glitch Recovery. Kunming, China: Chinese Astronomical Society.Google Scholar
Zhang, P. D. (2018b). X-Ray Pulsar-Based Navigation: Data Processing and Verification-Evaluation Technology. Changsha, China: National University of Defense Technology.Google Scholar
Zhou, Y. Q., Ji, F. J. and Ren, F. H. (2013). Quick search algorithm of X-ray pulsar period based on unevenly spaced timing data. Acta Physica Sinica, 62, 019701.CrossRefGoogle Scholar