VALIDATION OF A GNC ALGORITHM USING A STEREOSCOPIC IMAGING SENSOR TO CONDUCT CLOSE PROXIMITY OPERATIONS

The set of guidance, navigation, and control algorithms for a satellite using a stereoscopic imaging sensor to conduct close proximity operations about a noncooperative resident space object is used as a case study for a new means of verification and validation. This V&V method uses AGI's STK in conjunction with MATLAB to replicate mission-like sensor data as well as perform high-fidelity orbit propagation. The STK scenario acts as a truth model as well as a means to provide sensor data. These sensor data are corrupted with noise and bias and are then processed by the GNC algorithms to determine a commanded control. The commanded control is then corrupted by noise and applied to the STK scenario as an impulsive maneuver. The scenario is propagated to the next time step and the process repeats. Upon completion of the simulation, the algorithms are validated by a visual inspection of the relative trajectory. To verify the algorithms both acceptance testing and requirement evaluation are used to confirm all mission objectives are achieved.