Orbit design of a swarm for ultra-long wavelength radio interferometry with preliminary swarm and thruster sizing

Observing the universe in the Ultra-Long Wavelength (ULW) regime has been called the ‘last frontier in astronomy’—real imaging capabilities here are yet to be achieved. Obtaining an image of the sky in this frequency band can be done by employing a swarm of satellites that together act as an interferometer and collect the required imaging...

Match filtering approach for signal acquisition in radio-pulsar navigation

Pulsars with their periodic pulses and known positions are ideal beacons for navigation. The challenge, however, is the detection of the very weak pulsar signals that are submerged in noise. Radio based approaches allow the use of advanced techniques and methods for the detection and acquisition of such weak signals. In this paper, an effective...

An extensive and autonomous deep space navigation system using radio pulsars

Interstellar navigation poses significant challenges in all aspects of a spacecraft. One of them is reliable, low-cost, real-time navigation, especially when there is a considerable distance between Earth and the spacecraft in question. In this paper, a complete system for navigation using pulsar radio emissions is described and analysed. The...