Arrayed space optical communications: localization of the ground station

Abstract

In this paper, a novel ground station localization algorithm is proposed for space optical communications using ar- ray processing and a set of celestial objects of known locations in the global coordinate system. First, the ground station estimates the directions of this set of celestial objects relative to its local coordinate system using the sunlight reflected by these celestial objects. Then, the ranges of the celestial objects and the location and orientation of the ground station are estimated by solving systems of nonlinear and linear equations. The performance of the proposed approach is assessed through computer simulation studies. It is shown to estimate the location and orientation of the ground station successfully with excellent accuracy.