U of M researchers design ‘out-of-this-world’ navigation technologies

satellites
The gamma-ray detector could help synchronize a fleet of vehicles in
deep space. Photo: Shutterstock

U of M transportation researchers often look at navigation for vehicles, providing real-world value. Another recent project is more out of this world: it looks at using gamma rays for spacecraft navigation. Just as drivers must know the position of their vehicles to get them to the right place at the right time, space programs need to know the position of their spacecraft. However, the current resources available for spacecraft navigation in deep space are both limited and limiting.

“Current position, navigation, and timing methods for spacecraft in deep space are heavily reliant on Earth-based tracking resources, in particular NASA’s Deep Space Network,” says Demoz Gebre-Egziabher, an associate professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics.  “Unfortunately, the accuracy of these measurements decreases as distance from Earth increases. In addition, as more missions become dependent on these resources, the availability of the network decreases—this could mean satellites with a lower priority on the network would potentially see multiple days without position updates.”

To address these limitations, U of M researchers have developed a compact, low-cost gamma-ray detector that could be used for cooperative navigation and time synchronization among a fleet of spacecraft operating in deep space.  The gamma ray bursts that the sensor detects and uses for navigation are extremely intense, high-energy celestial events that occur at least once a day and are thought to be caused by the collapse of massive stars in distant galaxies.    

“The sensor we developed has the potential to enable gamma-ray-based navigation, which would allow spacecraft to autonomously determine their relative positions independent of Earth-based tracking,” says Gebre-Egziabher. “The sensor is both lightweight and inexpensive, meaning it could be used as a navigation instrument aboard micro-satellites and other vehicles with severe size, weight, power, and cost constraints.” 

There are currently two satellites in development that will be used to test the new Gamma Ray Incidence Detector (GRID) in lower-Earth orbit. Once in orbit, the GRID will be able to detect, time-code, and record gamma ray bursts. Those data will then be compared with gamma ray arrival time data from other orbiting spacecraft and used to calculate a relative position for the GRID’s satellite. “Since the positions of both spacecraft will be known through other tracking means, we can use this to assess the accuracy of our gamma-ray-based navigation method,” Gebre-Egziabher says.  

The research was funded by the NASA/Minnesota Space Grant Consortium. A paper about the study was published in the Proceedings of the IEEE/ION Position, Location and Navigation Symposium, PLANS 2016 (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers/Institute of Navigation). 

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