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Published February 3, 2004 | Published
Book Section - Chapter Open

Ground performance of the High-Energy Focusing Telescope (HEFT) attitude control system

Abstract

The High Energy Focusing Telescope (HEFT) is a balloon-borne, hard x-ray/gamma ray (20-70 keV) astronomical experiment. HEFT's 10 arcminute field of view and 1 arcminute angular resolution place challenging demands on its attitude control system (ACS). A microprocessor-based ACS has been developed to manage target acquisition and sidereal tracking. The ACS consists of a variety of sensors and actuators, with provisions for 2-way ground communication, all controlled by an on-board computer. Ground based pointing performance measurements indicate 1σ jitter of 7" and gyro drift rates of <1" s^(-1). Jitter is expected to worsen in the flight environment, but star tracker data are expected to reduce drift rates significantly, enabling a predicted 1σ absolute attitude determination of ≥4.7". HEFT is scheduled for flight in Spring 2004.

Additional Information

© 2004 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Mechanical construction of the instrument was supported by R. Hill and D. Carr of LLNL. The electronics were designed by D. Deane of LLNL. This work was performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by the University of California, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract No. W-7405-ENG-48.

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