Under the original contract, a Miniature Star Tracker (MST) is being developed in conjunction with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) through an STTR award from the Missile Defense Agency. The progress on the MST, which currently has prototype star tracker hardware undergoing testing, formed the foundation for the new FAR-MST SBIR contract awarded by the Air Force Research Laboratory Space Vehicles Directorate at Kirtland AFB, NM.

The objective of both of these programs, based upon technologies pioneered by AeroAstro, is to develop an all-optical star tracker and angular rate sensor that is very low in mass, volume, power consumption, and cost. Solely through image processing of rapidly acquired pictures of star fields, it simultaneously has the performance capabilities that enable it to perform the essential navigation, rotation sensing and attitude determination functions that formerly demanded much larger, power hungry and more expensive components.

Star trackers are indispensable for navigating in space, where no landmarks, terrain features or GPS systems are available. Celestial navigation is hardly new; it was used from the beginning of recorded history to determine the position of travelers on the desert and by mariners. Automatic star trackers were used at least as early as the Automatic Astro Compass Type MD-1 used to guide B-52 bombers in the 1960s.

AeroAstro's contribution is in the development of the first very compact and affordable, all-optical star tracker with autonomous lost-in-space recovery and high-angular-rate tracking capability. This system can recover from typical spacecraft tumble conditions and determine the inertial three-axis attitude of the spacecraft without first being provided an estimate. The fast angular tracking also makes it feasible to eliminate ancillary components such as gyroscopes. This provides savings in cost, power, complexity, volume and mass.

Dr. Thomas Vaneck, AeroAstro's Vice President, Business Development, said, "FAR-MST is a perfect example of the company's philosophy of providing affordable, high-quality products to the microsatellite industry. Even though FAR-MST is still in development, the number of customer requests we are receiving is phenomenal. Clearly this is a product that is long overdue!"

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