Publication Date:
2019-07-27
Description:
A new on-board optical navigation data technique has been successfully demonstrated on Mariner 9. Science TV pictures of Phobos and Deimos against star fields were used in the real time navigation process to insert Mariner 9 into orbit about Mars. Real time and post flight evaluation results have shown that the satellite/star data taken by Mariner 9 was more accurate than preflight analysis indicated. In fact the orbital insertion phase of the mission could have been achieved using only optical data to determine encounter parameters. The use of a science TV camera to obtain this data was successfully demonstrated. Stars as dim as 9th magnitude were detected and measurement accuracies of 3 arc sec (1 sigma) were achieved. The success of the optical navigation techniques developed for Mariner 9 has placed a new class of demanding missions (e.g., multiple outer planet, satellite tour, etc) within realized navigation capability.
Keywords:
NAVIGATION
Type:
AIAA PAPER 72-927
,
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and American Astronautical Society, Astrodynamics Conference, Palo Alto; Sept. 11-12, 1972; Palo Alto, CA
Format:
text
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