A scheme design of satellite autonomous navigation system based on stellar refraction

Satellite navigation based on stellar refraction has a great potential in application for its high accuracy and independence. Identification of refracted star and determination of refraction angle are the basis for high accuracy navigation. A new method for refracted star identification and refraction angle determination through star pattern simulation and recognition using two star sensors is proposed. Accordingly, a novel satellite autonomous navigation scheme based on stellar refraction is designed. To verify the feasibility of the proposed scheme, a simulation program of refracted star is presented, and an earth-pointing three-axis stabilized satellite with orbit altitude of 686 km is used as an example in this paper for computer simulation. The results show that the accuracy of the proposed navigation scheme is better than 200 m when the accuracy of star sensor is 3″.