A novel algorithm of detection and relative navigation for spacecraft

Abstract

In this paper a novel algorithm is proposed for the spacecraft detection and relative navigation problems. The main contents of this algorithm are studied as following: (i) detection algorithm by using mathematical morphology (MM). In spacecraft detection and information extraction by using MM transformation, how to design a reasonable structuring element according to the shape of spacecraft entities and its transformation information is very important, (ii) relative navigation algorithm based-on conformal geometric algebra (CGA). CGA allows to higher order entities (lines, planes, circles, spheres) in the same manner as with points. It is a novel way to deal with 2D-3D pose estimation problem. The description of spacecraft entities and its transformation based-on CGA will be studied, (iii) combining detection with relative navigation organically. Using the theory of spacecraft dynamics and spacecraft entities transformation information, we provide a new thought to construct and reconstruct dynamically structuring elements. The reasonable decomposition of structuring element for spacecraft features detection and providing the spacecraft entities transformation information based-on CGA theory can assure relative navigation to be combined with detection organically