Applying Computational Scanline Rendering Models in Satellite Photometry Inversion
Presentation Type
Poster
Location
Henderson Welcome Center
Start Date
15-1-2018 8:00 AM
Abstract
One of the foremost objectives of Space Situational Awareness initiatives is to fully characterize the physical nature of an object in Earth orbit using optical and/or radio observations. As thousands of manmade objects permeate the expanse of Earth’s useful orbital regions, the importance of inferring such information increases proportionally. Therefore, effective and efficient means of reconstructing the shape and attitude of an orbiting vessel must be developed. This poster presents a graphics-based application which exploits the computational advantages of scanline rendering systems in order to achieve this goal. The efficiency and physical accuracy of commercial rendering software were assessed in conjunction with a rudimentary photometry simulation software that was developed in-house. Upon establishing the viability of the proposed software, further consideration was made as to the direct means of photometry simulation, attitude derivation, and shape reconstruction by virtue of environment. We find that usage of commercial 3D rendering software for simulation of expected photometric curve is in fact feasible and merits further consideration and development for the purpose of improving optical Space Situational Awareness effoorts. This combination of direct simulation of anticipated photometric curves in conjunction with observed photometry from ERAU OSCOM system can significantly reduce the time in estimating the shape of an unknown resident space object, or the attitude of a known object.
Applying Computational Scanline Rendering Models in Satellite Photometry Inversion
Henderson Welcome Center
One of the foremost objectives of Space Situational Awareness initiatives is to fully characterize the physical nature of an object in Earth orbit using optical and/or radio observations. As thousands of manmade objects permeate the expanse of Earth’s useful orbital regions, the importance of inferring such information increases proportionally. Therefore, effective and efficient means of reconstructing the shape and attitude of an orbiting vessel must be developed. This poster presents a graphics-based application which exploits the computational advantages of scanline rendering systems in order to achieve this goal. The efficiency and physical accuracy of commercial rendering software were assessed in conjunction with a rudimentary photometry simulation software that was developed in-house. Upon establishing the viability of the proposed software, further consideration was made as to the direct means of photometry simulation, attitude derivation, and shape reconstruction by virtue of environment. We find that usage of commercial 3D rendering software for simulation of expected photometric curve is in fact feasible and merits further consideration and development for the purpose of improving optical Space Situational Awareness effoorts. This combination of direct simulation of anticipated photometric curves in conjunction with observed photometry from ERAU OSCOM system can significantly reduce the time in estimating the shape of an unknown resident space object, or the attitude of a known object.
