Speaker
Description
Whether they assist with space situational awareness, navigation, rendezvous or proximity operations, space-based optical sensors are key technologies for In-orbit servicing missions. Sodern’s versatile visible sensors, namely Auricam line-up and HiCAM, can meet these different IOS missions’ requirements among image quality, resolution or even signal-to-noise ratio.
Auricam is a cost-optimized compact (<140 mm) and lightweight (<500 g) high-resolution (4 Mpx) camera, derived from the AURIGA™ star tracker developed for new space applications, and available with a narrow (8 deg), medium (35 deg), or wide field of view (80 deg), with configurable aperture and focus. Designed with high reliability thanks to Sodern’s recognized heritage in space optronics, Auricam is equipped with a rad-hard lens assembly and ECSS level 1 EEE components, and capable of withstanding 7 years LEO and 15 years GEO environments. Auricam also offers a baffle for straylight protection and various in-head pre-processing, to enhance detection and inspection performances, as well as providing output frequency increase capabilities, to serve complex IOS missions.
On its side, HiCAM is a 1 Mpx high-performance camera designed specifically for detection and navigation purposes. It is composed of high-quality electronics derived from the NAC-ERO custom navigation camera developed for the ESA-funded Mars Sample Return (MSR) ERO mission. It has a 17 deg diagonal field of view lens assembly derived from flight-proven star trackers. Its advanced detector cooling system allows reaching high magnitudes for detection, making it ideal for missions requiring exceptional performances, in any terrestrial or interplanetary orbit.
IOS missions pose several challenges to optical sensors and space system designers: low signal-to-noise ratio or at the opposite detector saturations, motion blur, effect of radiations, temperature or straylight just to name a few. To help the users in choosing properly or tuning the right camera for their missions, or to assess their system performance well ahead the delivery of the camera hardware, Sodern develops a camera numerical model that accurately simulates the behaviour and the performances of both Auricam and HiCAM. This deliverable Digital Twin draws on Sodern in-house software developed for star tracker simulations, ATOS, during the last 20 years. It also benefits from the experience gained in developing high end cameras for ESA missions, namely the Navigation Camera for JUICE, and the Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) for MSR ERO. Main characteristics of the numerical model will be presented, and how this accurate and comprehensive model can allow exploring use cases and predicting camera performances for improved IOS missions.
