Determination of spacecraft inertial properties

A computing device comprising a processor configured to carry out a method of determining one or more inertial properties of a spacecraft, the method comprising:

• receiving data collected at different points in time during operation of the spacecraft, the data including information indicative of:
• the angular momentum of a reaction wheel on-board the spacecraft, and
• the angular velocity of the spacecraft;
• identifying changes in the angular velocity of the spacecraft based on the information indicative of the angular velocity of the spacecraft;
• and
• determining one or more inertial properties of the spacecraft based on the identified changes in the angular velocity of the spacecraft and the information indicative of the angular momentum of the reaction wheel, wherein determining the one or more inertial properties comprises:
• identifying a plurality of time intervals, each interval corresponding to a change in the angular velocity of the spacecraft upon which the determining is to be based;
• randomly sampling the plurality of time intervals to generate one or more sets of intervals, wherein the number of time intervals within each of the sets of intervals is less than the total number of time intervals;
• for each set of intervals, determining a set estimate of the inertial properties based on the plurality of time intervals in the respective set of intervals;
• and
• combining the one or more set estimates of the inertial properties to determine an overall estimate of the inertial properties.

A computer-readable medium comprising logic that, when executed by a computer causes the computer to carry out a method of determining one or more inertial properties of a spacecraft, the method comprising:

• receiving data collected at different points in time during operation of the spacecraft, the data including information indicative of:
• the angular momentum of a reaction wheel on-board the spacecraft, and
• the angular velocity of the spacecraft;
• identifying changes in the angular velocity of the spacecraft based on the information indicative of the angular velocity of the spacecraft;
• and
• determining one or more inertial properties of the spacecraft based on the identified changes in the angular velocity of the spacecraft and the information indicative of the angular momentum of the reaction wheel, wherein determining the one or more inertial properties comprises:
• identifying a plurality of time intervals, each interval corresponding to a change in the angular velocity of the spacecraft upon which the determining is to be based;
• randomly sampling the plurality of time intervals to generate one or more sets of intervals, wherein the number of time intervals within each of the sets of intervals is less than the total number of time intervals;
• for each set of intervals, determining a set estimate of the inertial properties based on the plurality of time intervals in the respective set of intervals;
• and
• combining the one or more set estimates of the inertial properties to determine an overall estimate of the inertial properties.

A computer program product comprising instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer carry out a computer-implemented method of determining one or more inertial properties for accurate control of a spacecraft, the method comprising:

• receiving data collected at different points in time during operation of the spacecraft, the data including information indicative of:
• the angular momentum of a reaction wheel on-board the spacecraft, and
• the angular velocity of the spacecraft;
• identifying changes in the angular velocity of the spacecraft based on the information indicative of the angular velocity of the spacecraft;
• and
• determining one or more inertial properties of the spacecraft based on the identified changes in the angular velocity of the spacecraft and the information indicative of the angular momentum of the reaction wheel, wherein determining the one or more inertial properties comprises:
• identifying a plurality of time intervals, each interval corresponding to a change in the angular velocity of the spacecraft upon which the determining is to be based;
• randomly sampling the plurality of time intervals to generate one or more sets of intervals, wherein the number of time intervals within each of the sets of intervals is less than the total number of time intervals;
• for each set of intervals, determining a set estimate of the inertial properties based on the plurality of time intervals in the respective set of intervals;
• and
• combining the one or more set estimates of the inertial properties to determine an overall estimate of the inertial properties.