Abstract
This thesis describes strategies to perform stray light testing in an earthbound laboratory while accounting for atmospheric and surface scattering phenomena that make these measurements difficult. We present a method to analyze and predict the stray light performance for a baffled star tracker optical system. This method involves a hybrid stray light analysis procedure that combines experimental measurements of a star tracker lens optics and uses ray-tracing to obtain attenuation curves. We demonstrate these analytical techniques using an engineering model ST-16 star tracker from Sinclair Interplanetary along with a baffle prototype. The system attenuation curve's accuracy is validated by comparing independently measured baffle attenuation curves with equivalent ray-tracing models. Additionally, exclusion angles are defined for the ST-16 sensor by calculating the false detection rate that varies with system attenuation levels. These techniques provide a versatile alternative to conventional testing for preliminary design stages for a star tracker baffle that emphasizes the use of modest infrastructure.
Highlights
Star trackers are attitude measurement devices that measure, identify star distribution and compute an attitude using a catalogue of known stellar positions
Most applicable dark coatings deviate away from the Lambertian idealization. They are characterized by a property called the Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF) which describes the reflectance, R, of a scattering event depending on the incident light orientation and the observer orientation with respect to the interaction point[16]
The Moon will definitely saturate the Aptina detector on the ST-16 and our lunar exclusion angle is defined as the angle at which the Moon leaves the field of view (FOV)
Summary
Attenuation ηq Quantum Efficiency xv m2 [-] ph/s/m2 [-] ph or [-] [-] [-] [-]/s [-] W [-] [-] W /m2/nm [-] [-] [-] [-] s ph [-] [-]. Gaussian Standard Deviation Parameter ph σα Normalized Standard Deviation Curve [-]. I dedicate this to my friends, family and loved ones
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