A Navigation Processor for Flexible Real-Time Formation Flying Applications

On the background of a growing interest in formation flying technologies, a powerful onboard navigation processor dedicated to the GPS-based guidance, navigation, an control of satellite formations in real-time has been built up. Designed for various formation flying strategies, the processor supports multiple GPS receiver interfaces and thus allows flexible hardware-in-the-loop simulations of complex satellites formations comprising more than two spacecraft. To this end, a real-time formation flying RFF) software system has been developed an implemented to the processor. The RFF is based on a reduced-dynamic orbit determination approach to relative navigation and offers a real-time support of the attitude and orbit control system (AOCS) of the satellite in formation. Making use of synchronized GPS signal simulators, the developed system allows realistic simulations of formation flying scenarios, which enables research in the fields of measurement combination and modeling, dynamic algorithms selection, and orbit control strategies, aiming at decimeter-level accuracy for the real-time relative navigation