On an Autonomous Pulsar Observation–Based Timekeeping Method for Deep Space

To provide autonomous and accurate time service for deep space missions, a pulsar observation–based timekeeping method is documented in this paper, which utilizes pulsars as the time information source. Firstly, the pulsar observation noise is remodeled as the combination of the Gaussian noise and c...

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Main Authors: Shibin Song, Xiaowei Jin, Haixia Wang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2025-01-01
Series:International Journal of Aerospace Engineering
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/ijae/7550238
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author Shibin Song
Xiaowei Jin
Haixia Wang
author_facet Shibin Song
Xiaowei Jin
Haixia Wang
author_sort Shibin Song
collection DOAJ
description To provide autonomous and accurate time service for deep space missions, a pulsar observation–based timekeeping method is documented in this paper, which utilizes pulsars as the time information source. Firstly, the pulsar observation noise is remodeled as the combination of the Gaussian noise and colored noise, and the detailed expression of the colored noise is presented in the paper. An improved Grey model (GM) is proposed to describe the onboard clock evolution, which models the grey action quantity as a time-varying coefficient and attenuates the dependence of the model on the initial state. On the basis of the modified observation noise model and GM, an unscented Kalman filtering (UKF) is adopted to estimate the onboard clock error. Numerical experiments are conducted to analyze the validity of the proposed method and the impact of spacecraft positioning error and pulsar selection on the proposed method. The proposed method offers an autonomous solution for onboard timekeeping in deep space missions.
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institution OA Journals
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publishDate 2025-01-01
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series International Journal of Aerospace Engineering
spelling doaj-art-505885da3ff345e4aaee232bfd3192dd2025-08-20T02:11:04ZengWileyInternational Journal of Aerospace Engineering1687-59742025-01-01202510.1155/ijae/7550238On an Autonomous Pulsar Observation–Based Timekeeping Method for Deep SpaceShibin Song0Xiaowei Jin1Haixia Wang2College of Electrical Engineering and AutomationCollege of Electrical Engineering and AutomationCollege of Electrical Engineering and AutomationTo provide autonomous and accurate time service for deep space missions, a pulsar observation–based timekeeping method is documented in this paper, which utilizes pulsars as the time information source. Firstly, the pulsar observation noise is remodeled as the combination of the Gaussian noise and colored noise, and the detailed expression of the colored noise is presented in the paper. An improved Grey model (GM) is proposed to describe the onboard clock evolution, which models the grey action quantity as a time-varying coefficient and attenuates the dependence of the model on the initial state. On the basis of the modified observation noise model and GM, an unscented Kalman filtering (UKF) is adopted to estimate the onboard clock error. Numerical experiments are conducted to analyze the validity of the proposed method and the impact of spacecraft positioning error and pulsar selection on the proposed method. The proposed method offers an autonomous solution for onboard timekeeping in deep space missions.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/ijae/7550238
spellingShingle Shibin Song
Xiaowei Jin
Haixia Wang
On an Autonomous Pulsar Observation–Based Timekeeping Method for Deep Space
International Journal of Aerospace Engineering
title On an Autonomous Pulsar Observation–Based Timekeeping Method for Deep Space
title_full On an Autonomous Pulsar Observation–Based Timekeeping Method for Deep Space
title_fullStr On an Autonomous Pulsar Observation–Based Timekeeping Method for Deep Space
title_full_unstemmed On an Autonomous Pulsar Observation–Based Timekeeping Method for Deep Space
title_short On an Autonomous Pulsar Observation–Based Timekeeping Method for Deep Space
title_sort on an autonomous pulsar observation based timekeeping method for deep space
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/ijae/7550238
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AT xiaoweijin onanautonomouspulsarobservationbasedtimekeepingmethodfordeepspace
AT haixiawang onanautonomouspulsarobservationbasedtimekeepingmethodfordeepspace