High‐precision attitude determination and control system design and real‐time verification for CubeSats

• Published in: International journal of communication systems 2020-05, Vol.33 (7), p.n/a
• Main Authors: Gaber, Khaled, El_Mashade, Mohamed B., Abdel Aziz, Ghada A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Attitude control; attitude determination; Attitudes; Control systems design; CubeSat; Drift; Error correction; gyroscope; Kalman filters; MEMS; Microelectromechanical systems; Verification
• ISSN: 1074-5351; 1099-1131
• DOI: 10.1002/dac.4311

Summary This paper presents the design and real‐time verification of a high‐precision and low‐cost attitude determination and control system (ADCS) for CubeSat based on a micro‐electro‐mechanical (MEMS) gyroscope. The CubeSat new missions require accurate and sophisticated ADCS with attitude drift adjustment. Moreover, designing an effective ADCS for the CubeSat poses a difficult challenge. The satellite comprises of a two‐unit CubeSat, which denotes that the ADCS is designed with small size, tight mass, and energy limitations. The ADCS has been enhanced in the former few years from fairly small resolution of 10 to around 0.6 m. This attitude drift, if not properly compensated, will cause a slow attitude information loss as the error in attitude rises between the actual and estimated. To correct the attitude adrift, the proposed system utilizes a MEMS gyroscope sensor which offers a comparative attitude to the Kalman filter for estimated attitude update. Real‐time verification and validation for the ADCS are performed through Matlab/Simulink environment and lab testing to prove the efficacy of the proposed system. Simulation of the ADCS shows accurate results with error of no more than 1°. This paper presents the design and real‐time verification of a high‐precision and low‐cost attitude determination and control system (ADCS) for CubeSat based on a micro‐electro‐mechanical (MEMS) gyroscope. The proposed ADCS comprises attitude determination for estimating current attitude of the CubeSat via sensor output and attitude control for calculating the control signal for the actuators. A MEMS gyroscope is used for correcting attitude adrift by offering a comparative attitude for updating estimated attitude.