COTS Camera and Computer-Based Star Tracker (CBST)

About this technology

Overview

The COTS camera and computer-based star tracker (CBST) software package is a collection of algorithms that take pictures of stars and then output the inertial attitude of the camera. The algorithms' have demonstrated accuracy better than 0.25 degrees when processing imagery taken on-orbit. The algorithms have been developed to be easily and rapidly deployed on a variety of common low-cost and SWaP single board computers and used with COTS cameras. This enables high quality attitude information to be gathered from small, low-cost components that already exist on many spacecraft, which can improve navigation performance and/or redundancy for minimal additional cost and lead time.