Satellite navigation by stellar refraction

Abstract An autonomous attitude and navigation system is described in this paper. It performs the satellite attitude estimation and the navigation with the same star sensors. The use of only natural resources to update the navigation filter provides a total autonomy to this system. The stellar refraction measurement principle is described and the model used in the study is compared with the results of an experiment on stratospheric balloon. The complete computer simulation and the hardware design are also detailed and benefits to potential users are investigated.