Development of the Arcsecond Pico Star Tracker (APST)

Abstract

The second-generation star tracker estimates pointing knowledge of a satellite without a-priori knowledge. But star trackers are larger in size, heavier, power hungry and expensive for nanosatellite missions. The Arcsecond Pico Star Tracker (APST) is designed based on the limitations of nanosatellites and estimated to provide pointing knowledge in an arcsecond. The APST will be used on the SNUSAT-2, Earth-observing nanosatellite. This paper describes the requirements of APST, trade-off for the selection of image sensor, optics, and baffle design. In addition, a survey of algorithms for star trackers and a comparison of the specifications of APST with other Pico star trackers are detailed. The field of view (FOV) estimation shows that 17° and 22° are suitable for APST and this reduces stray light problems. To achieve the 100% sky coverage, the FOV of 17° and 22° should able to detect the 5.85 and 5.35 visual magnitude of stars, respectively. It is validated by estimating the signal to noise ratio of APST and night sky test results. The maximum earth stray light angle is estimated to be 68° and a miniaturized baffle is designed with the exclusion angle of 27°.