Full attitude state reconstruction of tumbling space debris TOPEX/Poseidon via light-curve inversion with Quanta Photogrammetry

Abstract The tumbling motion of defunct satellite TOPEX/Poseidon (T/P) is governed by the μ-scale Solar Radiation Pressure (SRP) torque that spun up the satellite from the initial, nadir-pointing to the current fast spinning state [1]. In this paper, we advance the methods of Quanta Photogrammetry (QPM) in an effort to determine satellite attitude parameters – the inertial orientation of the body angular momentum vector L , the rotational phase and rate as well as the object pole coordinates with respect to L ; the determined pole offset is 3.52°. The presented data support the hypothesis that the full characteristics of the satellite attitude dynamics can be obtained from a single radiant photogram measured by the photon-counting system of the Graz Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) Observatory during an overhead pass. The analysis of the observed radiant signature of T/P gives the elevation angle of the normal vector to the solar array front surface at −1.7°, RMS = 0.63°, in the spacecraft body-centered reference frame. This information, along with the pole position, is used to model the SRP forces and torques on the satellite and determine the T/P moment of inertia I = 69728 , σ I = 75.2 [ k g m 2 ] , by best-fitting long-term spin simulation to the observed trend.