Performance Analysis and Possible Design of an Optical System for Pulsar Navigation

The concept of observing pulsars for space autonomous navigation has already caught the attention of space agencies. Driven by the extremely stable nature of pulsar radiation, many research works and in-orbit demonstrations have been performed, demonstrating the suitability of these sources for navi...

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Main Authors: Samuele Larese, Giampiero Naletto, Paolo Zoccarato, Gabriele Zeni, Luca Zampieri
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Institute of Navigation 2025-01-01
Series:Navigation
Online Access:https://navi.ion.org/content/72/1/navi.682
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author Samuele Larese
Giampiero Naletto
Paolo Zoccarato
Gabriele Zeni
Luca Zampieri
author_facet Samuele Larese
Giampiero Naletto
Paolo Zoccarato
Gabriele Zeni
Luca Zampieri
author_sort Samuele Larese
collection DOAJ
description The concept of observing pulsars for space autonomous navigation has already caught the attention of space agencies. Driven by the extremely stable nature of pulsar radiation, many research works and in-orbit demonstrations have been performed, demonstrating the suitability of these sources for navigation. The core concepts of the in-orbit demonstrated X-ray pulsar-based navigation systems and the recently proposed space navigation by optical pulsars (SNOP) systems are based on the capability to accurately define the arrival times of a pulsar signal. Therefore, the performance of a pulsar-based navigation system depends on the timing accuracy of the measured signals, which is a function of the characteristics of the navigation payload onboard the satellite. The aim of this paper is to investigate the impact of the optical parameters of a photometer-based instrument on the timing accuracy of a SNOP system; moreover, a first optical design for the payload is proposed.
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issn 2161-4296
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spelling doaj-art-ab13afda5b404c0e81637bbbe44b57932025-08-20T03:21:06ZengInstitute of NavigationNavigation2161-42962025-01-0172110.33012/navi.682navi.682Performance Analysis and Possible Design of an Optical System for Pulsar NavigationSamuele LareseGiampiero NalettoPaolo ZoccaratoGabriele ZeniLuca ZampieriThe concept of observing pulsars for space autonomous navigation has already caught the attention of space agencies. Driven by the extremely stable nature of pulsar radiation, many research works and in-orbit demonstrations have been performed, demonstrating the suitability of these sources for navigation. The core concepts of the in-orbit demonstrated X-ray pulsar-based navigation systems and the recently proposed space navigation by optical pulsars (SNOP) systems are based on the capability to accurately define the arrival times of a pulsar signal. Therefore, the performance of a pulsar-based navigation system depends on the timing accuracy of the measured signals, which is a function of the characteristics of the navigation payload onboard the satellite. The aim of this paper is to investigate the impact of the optical parameters of a photometer-based instrument on the timing accuracy of a SNOP system; moreover, a first optical design for the payload is proposed.https://navi.ion.org/content/72/1/navi.682
spellingShingle Samuele Larese
Giampiero Naletto
Paolo Zoccarato
Gabriele Zeni
Luca Zampieri
Performance Analysis and Possible Design of an Optical System for Pulsar Navigation
Navigation
title Performance Analysis and Possible Design of an Optical System for Pulsar Navigation
title_full Performance Analysis and Possible Design of an Optical System for Pulsar Navigation
title_fullStr Performance Analysis and Possible Design of an Optical System for Pulsar Navigation
title_full_unstemmed Performance Analysis and Possible Design of an Optical System for Pulsar Navigation
title_short Performance Analysis and Possible Design of an Optical System for Pulsar Navigation
title_sort performance analysis and possible design of an optical system for pulsar navigation
url https://navi.ion.org/content/72/1/navi.682
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AT paolozoccarato performanceanalysisandpossibledesignofanopticalsystemforpulsarnavigation
AT gabrielezeni performanceanalysisandpossibledesignofanopticalsystemforpulsarnavigation
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