Distributed Hybrid Sensors Architectures for Launch Vehicle Avionics and Future Space Transportation Systems

Abstract

Distributed architectures of hybrid sensors could greatly support the future launch vehicles navigation systems and avionics in the perspective of a significant increase of the space launches in the future years and decades. While the current architectures rely on high-TRL, costly, centralized sensors, similar performances could be reached by distributed networks of lower TRL, lower cost sensors. This paper introduces a concept for a hybrid network of sensors and will describe the prototypes and tests for several categories of implemented sensors.