To provide a orientation deciding device for an artificial satellite to enable the detection of correct orientation information in a short period of time, while realizing reduction in cost.
The orientation deciding device comprises a star picture sampling part 2 to sample a star picture from the pictures of a photographing part 1; a star data base 3 to record direction information of a star on a celestial sphere; an orientation calculating part 5 to calculate the orientation candidacy; a star identifying part 4 to output a set of star picture candidacies by collating the star picture and direction information with each other; an orientation calculating part 5 to calculate an orientation candidacy of an artificial satellite; and a start picture estimating part 6 to calculate a give exposure time to additionally observe a given number of starts or more regarding each orientation candidacy and a predicted position. First, a given exposure time and a predicted position are calculated by calculating an orientation candidacy from a photograph picture in an initial exposure time and consecutively from a photograph picture in a given exposure time, it is checked whether a star picture is present in a predicted position regarding each of the orientation candidacies, and an orientation candidacy when the start picture appears in a predicted position is decided to be a correct orientation of the artificial satellite.
YOSHIKAWA SHOJI
YOSHIOKA HIROSUKE
INOUE MASAO
YOSHIDA NORIMASA
MIYATAKE KATSUMASA
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