Point Cloud Registration Based Satellite Motion Parameter Identification Method

A non-contact satellite motion parameter identification method is proposed for the derotation of satellites that roll in space while simultaneously spinning and processing. The algorithm involves three main steps. First, the point-cloud registration is used to obtain the pose transformation between two adjacent point clouds, from which the trajectories of the points in the satellite's point cloud arc obtained. Second, because the points on the spin axis only rotate around the moving axis, the principal component analysis and circle-fitting method arc used to find a point on the spin axis and thereby determine the direction and position of the precession axis. Finally, the rolling satellite's parameters arc found by solving a set of nonlinear equations, established based on the relationships between the overall pose transformation and the two motions. The simulation results show that the proposed method can accurately identify the motion parameters of a rolling satellite for certain noise levels.