Current Status of Flight Evaluation of DGPS-INS Hybrid Navigation System at NAL

Abstract

This paper presents a summary of the flight evaluation of the DGPS-INS hybrid navigation system conducted at the National Aerospace Laboratory (NAL). First, the configuration of the flight experiments, including ground facilities, the measurement system, etc. is described. Secondly, the design concept for a method of estimating navigation errors using a Kalman filter is presented. Thirdly, flight profiles employed in the experiments are defined, and the experimental results of GPS, DGPS, INS, in both stand-alone and hybrid modes are shown corresponding to each profile, and the improvement of navigation performance by the introduction of the DGPS-INS hybrid navigation system is experimentally verified. Fourthly, the future plan for research on the DGPS-INS hybrid navigation system at NAL is briefly explained. Finally, it is concluded that the design concept of the DGPS-INS hybrid navigation system available for future space vehicles has been successfully completed.