Strapdown Astro-Inertial Navigation Utilizing the Optical Wide-angle Lens Startracker

Abstract

This paper discusses the application of strapdown stellar inertial systems as autonomous navigators for manned aircraft, ships, missiles, and remote piloted vehicles. It analyzes the implications of gyroscopic performance, artificial stellar image stabilization, star density, sky visibility, and sky background irradiance considerations for system performance. It concludes that a high-precision, reliable, low-cost stellar inertial system can be achieved by eliminating gimbals and combining a strapdown INS with an optical wide-angle lens startracker (OWLS).