Systems and methods for the accurate tracking of orbital objects
AssigneeJASR Systems, LLC
InventorsBrett Alverson Spivey, Christopher Sexton
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Abstract
The present disclosure achieves accurate tracking of sunlit orbital objects, including small, dim orbital debris, using a ground-based telescope and detector which tracks the orbital object. The angular position of the orbital object relative to background celestial objects is accurately determined over a trajectory, allowing accurate determination of the orbit parameters.
Claims29
A system for tracking an orbital object, the system comprising:
- a telescope coupled to a tracking gimbal;
- a camera coupled to the telescope;
- wherein the telescope and the camera are collectively operable for acquiring image frames of a solar illuminated orbital object;
- and
- a memory and a processor coupled to the camera storing instructions executed to determine a location of the orbital object within the camera field vs. time;
- wherein the memory and the processor further store instructions executed to determine an orientation of celestial background objects in the camera field with respect to an accurately registered database of true celestial background data;
- and
- wherein the memory and the processor further store instructions executed to use the determined orientation of the celestial background objects to determine the orbital object's celestial location vs. time.
A method for tracking an orbital object, the method comprising:
- providing a telescope coupled to a tracking gimbal;
- providing a camera coupled to the telescope;
- wherein the telescope and the camera are collectively operable for acquiring image frames of a solar illuminated orbital object;
- determining a location of the orbital object within a camera field vs. time;
- determining an orientation of celestial background objects in the camera field with respect to an accurately registered database of true celestial background data;
- and
- using the determined orientation of the celestial background to determine the orbital object's celestial location vs. time.
A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions stored in a memory and executed by a processor to carry out steps for tracking an orbital object, the steps comprising:
- acquiring image frames of a solar illuminated orbital object;
- determining a location of the orbital object within a camera field vs. time;
- determining an orientation of the celestial background objects in the camera field with respect to an accurately registered database of true celestial background data;
- and
- using the determined orientation of the celestial background to determine the orbital object's celestial location vs. time.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.