Earth viewing with a shuttleborne experiment pointing mount

Abstract

The article considers the attitude determination and the control problems of the shuttleborne earth-viewing pointing mounts (EPMs). Per-axis pointing performance requirements are identified for troposphere/stratosphere pollution, tropical storm research, and urban air pollution. Ephemeris error contributions to earth pointing are discussed and candidate attitude reference systems are described. Primary interfaces between the orbiter flight control system, Spacelab, pallet-mounted EPM, and control subsystems are outlined. A block diagram is given of the EPM-mounted stellar-inertial attitude reference system. The system's performance is evaluated on the basis of the inertial sensor and a three-axis covariance analysis.