Satellite Tracking Using a Portable 8 Aperture Telescope

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Satellite Tracking Using a Portable 8 Aperture
Telescope

• July 26, 2006
• Jayson Nakakura
• University of Hawaii at Manoa

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Trex Enterprises Maui

• Kahului, Maui
• Mentors
• Riki Maeda and Daron Nishimoto
• US Government Support
• Defense
• Homeland Security
• Force Protection
• Projects
• CMOS Image Sensors
• Adaptive Optics
• Deployable Tracking Systems

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Deployable Tracking System

• Why Track Satellites?
• Need to know satellite activity
• Friendly or Spy?
• What is it doing?
• Where is it looking?
• Quantity
• Many transportable telescopes
• Not dependent on observatories (i.e. AEOS)
• Tracking with Low Residual Error
• Keeping Satellites Centered in the Field of View
  (FOV) as they orbit over head

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Conditions for Success
North Finding
Mobility
Self Leveling
GPS Enabled
Deployable Tracking System
High Slew Speeds
Accuracy
Large Mirror
Resolution
Precise Satellite Orbiting Data
High Speed Camera
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Meade LX200GPS
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Satellite Tracker
The predicted pass of COSMOS 1782
Satellite Tracker processes Two Line Element Sets
(TLES) to predict satellite orbits. The
telescope uses this data to point towards and
slew with the passing satellite.
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Lunar Planetary Imager (LPI)
Color CMOS Chip with a 640 x 480 pixel resolution
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LPI Imaging
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Instantaneous Field of View (IFOV)
Binary Star - Albireo
known separation 34.3 arc-seconds
LPI FOV 640x480 pixels
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Albireo
34.3 arc-seconds 44.05 pixels
Average Instantaneous Field of View (IFOV)
.789 arc-seconds
44.05 pixels
28 pixels
34 pixels
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Albireo - 3x Magnification
Average IFOV .267 arc-seconds/pixel
130.2 pixels
95 pixels
89 pixels
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Conditions for Tracking

• Weather
• Terminator
• The time period when satellites reflect sunlight,
  making them visible
• A few hours after sunset
• A few hours before sunrise
• Satellite Magnitudes
• Visibility of the satellites

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Finding Residual Error

• Take about 100 frames
• Find de-centered distances in arc-seconds
• Calculate average with a standard deviation

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Slew Up
Slew Left
Centered
ready for imaging
Slew Direction
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Autostar II
Used for Manual Tracking
Controls telescope slew direction
Controls telescope slew speeds
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International Space Station (ISS)
ISS
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Tracking a Plane
181.2 arc-seconds
229.6 pixels
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Average Residual Error
169 pixels
133.4 arc-seconds
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Conclusion
Is Satellite Tracking Feasible?
Yes
No

• Able to slew with satellites
• Able to manually track satellites
• Able to image
• Able to manually track planes

• Unable to center when using Satellite Tracker

Improvements? Satellite Tracker telescope
controlling software Time

• Deployable Tracking System
• With better software, it will successfully track
  satellites
• With a much larger aperture, it should
  successfully image satellites

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Thank You

• Malika Moutawakkil Bell
• Lisa Hunter Hilary OBryan
• Riki Maeda
• Daron Nishimoto Wes Friewald
• Justin OBrien
• John Hirata Suzanne Burns
• Uncle Kahu Charlie Kauluwehi Maxwell Sr.

Co-workers