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SUN-BASED ATTITUDE DETERMINATION FOR CUBESAT NANOSATELLITES: A REVIEW, MODELS, AND ALBEDO COMPENSATION ALGORITHMS
Abstract
The article is devoted to a systematic review of methods for determining the angular orientation of CubeSat nanosatellites based on the Sun vector in low Earth orbits (LEO). The relevance of the study is driven by the increasing requirements for the pointing accuracy of small spacecraft when performing complex missions: Earth remote sensing, global monitoring, and optical communications. Developers are forced to work under strict mass, size, and power constraints inherent in CubeSat platforms.
The purpose of the work is to generalize scientific and technical approaches to orientation using Sun sensors, evaluate their parameters, and study the influence of orbital conditions on measurement errors. The study uses methods of comparative analysis of hardware solutions, systematization of data from scientific sources, and mathematical modeling of the processes of Sun vector determination.
A detailed classification of Sun orientation devices is provided: from analog photodiode circuits and the use of solar panels as coarse sensors to precision slit sensors and digital systems based on CMOS cameras. Their angular resolution, field of view, and resistance to interference are analyzed. Mathematical models for calculating the Sun direction in inertial and body-fixed coordinate systems are described. Attitude estimation algorithms are considered, including the QUEST method and modifications of the Kalman filter. The necessity of combining data from Sun sensors with measurements from gyroscopes and magnetometers for stable operation of ADCS systems is substantiated.
Significant attention is paid to the negative impact of Earth albedo and eclipse periods. Algorithmic methods for leveling background illumination based on Earth's reflection models and adaptive adjustment of weight coefficients in filters are analyzed. The main result of the study is the proof that the orientation accuracy of a CubeSat depends primarily on the quality of on-board data processing algorithms, rather than just on sensor characteristics. It has been established that sub-degree pointing accuracy requires the integration of navigation data, the use of Kalman filters, and software compensation for albedo. The results obtained create a theoretical basis for the design of orientation systems for future space missions based on ultra-small platforms.
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.32620/oikit.2026.108.20
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