The Shadow Positioning Sensors (SPS) for formation flying metrology on-board the ESA-PROBA3 mission

A. Bemporad; C. Baccani; G. Capobianco; S. Fineschi; M. Focardi; F. Landini; D. Loreggia; G. Massone; G. Nicolini; V. Noce; M. Pancrazzi; M. Romoli; S. Buckley; K. O'Neill; E. Renotte; J. S. Servaye; C. Thizy

doi:10.1117/12.2191829

21 September 2015 The Shadow Positioning Sensors (SPS) for formation flying metrology on-board the ESA-PROBA3 mission

A. Bemporad, C. Baccani, G. Capobianco, S. Fineschi, M. Focardi, F. Landini, D. Loreggia, G. Massone, G. Nicolini, V. Noce, M. Pancrazzi, M. Romoli, S. Buckley, K. O'Neill, E. Renotte, J. S. Servaye, C. Thizy

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 9604, Solar Physics and Space Weather Instrumentation VI; 96040C (2015) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2191829
Event: SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications, 2015, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

PROBA3 is an ESA technology mission devoted to in-orbit demonstration of the formation flight (FF) technique, with two satellites kept at an average inter-distance by about 144 m. The ASPIIC instrument on-board PROBA3 will be the first ever space-based coronagraph working on one satellite and having the external occulter located on the second satellite, thus allowing observations of the inner solar corona with unprecedented reduction of stray light. During the observational periods, the FF configuration will be maintained with very high precision and two different techniques will be implemented: the use of Shadow Positioning Sensors (SPS) located on the Coronagraph Spacecraft (diodes measuring the penumbral light intensity on the entrance pupil plane) and the use of Occulter Position Sensor LEDs (OPSE) located on the back side of the Occulter Spacecraft. This paper will review the main instrumental requirements on the SPS needed to determine the 3-dimensional relative positioning of the two PROBA3 satellites with high precision.

Citation Download Citation

A. Bemporad, C. Baccani, G. Capobianco, S. Fineschi, M. Focardi, F. Landini, D. Loreggia, G. Massone, G. Nicolini, V. Noce, M. Pancrazzi, M. Romoli, S. Buckley, K. O'Neill, E. Renotte, J. S. Servaye, and C. Thizy "The Shadow Positioning Sensors (SPS) for formation flying metrology on-board the ESA-PROBA3 mission", Proc. SPIE 9604, Solar Physics and Space Weather Instrumentation VI, 96040C (21 September 2015); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2191829

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