ADCS data are telemetry data that describe the satellite’s pose in space, meaning its position and orientation. From this data, it is possible to determine where the satellite has been, and what the camera was pointing at, at any given point in time. This information is particularly crucial to the HYPSO-1 satellite when considering the images it takes: we want to be able to estimate where the satellite was and what orientation it had when it took the images, and most importantly, where on the earth the images were taken from. This thesis work would involve incorporating the ADCS telemetry into the onboard processing unit (OPU) on the HYPSO-1 satellite. This work can enable on-board georeferencing and, for future satellites, triggering capture autonomously by determining access to a location, as opposed triggering by timestamp, which helps planning future captures and operating the satellite.

Recommended experience: C programming language. Also useful would be knowledge about terrestrial reference frames and quaternions.

For more information, contact Dennis Langer (dennis.d.langer@ntnu.no)