OCAM-G – A GNSS Technology In-Orbit Demonstration Experiment for Future European Launcher Application
- Paper number
IAC-15,D2,4,8,x29870
- Author
Mr. Markus Markgraf, DLR (German Aerospace Center), Germany
- Coauthor
Dr. André Hauschild, DLR (German Aerospace Center), Germany
- Coauthor
Dr. Oliver Montenbruck, DLR (German Aerospace Center), Germany
- Coauthor
Mr. Horst Pfeuffer, OHB System AG - Munich, Germany
- Coauthor
Mr. Franz Kugler, OHB System AG - Munich, Germany
- Coauthor
Mr. Badr Rmili, Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES), France
- Coauthor
Mr. Alain Conde Reis, European Space Agency (ESA), The Netherlands
- Year
2015
- Abstract
OCAM-G is the GNSS version of the flight-proven On-board CAMera module, well known in the European launcher community. Main objective of the project is to provide a platform for the in-orbit demonstration of GNSS technology for launcher applications. OCAM-G has been developed, built and qualified under the lead of OHB System (formerly Kayser-Threde) with support from numerous partners in research and industry, such as DLR and Septentrio, within an ESA program on GNSS technology for launch vehicles. The initiative aims to supplement other studies performed in this area by a practical flight experience. In total, two flight units have been built and qualified so far. As its predecessors, the OCAM-G experiment is a fully self-contained and autonomously operating system, composed of a main electronic box, two camera modules, two LNAs and two GNSS- and S-Band antennas mounted on opposite sides of the outer circumference launcher to provide attitude independent signal reception throughout all flight phases. Currently, OCAM-G is equipped with three GNSS receivers, two AsteRx-m GNSS receivers from Septentrio N.V., Belgium, and one Phoenix GPS receiver from DLR, Germany. Navigation, raw and status data from these receivers are collected at a configurable update rate by an onboard processor and either directly send to ground via S-Band transmitters or stored and dumped during the next pass over a ground station. The successful maiden flight of the OCAM-G system took place on July 29, 2014 onboard the Ariane-5 flight VA 219 (ATV-5), marking the first flight of a GNSS receiver aboard an Ariane launch vehicle. For this flight, the OCAM-G module had been accommodated in the vehicle equipment bay and data have been recorded from a few minutes before lift-off to a few minutes after ATV-5 separation. With the exception of two very short outages, navigation and raw data at good quality are available for the entire operation time of OCAM-G. Following a brief introduction to the “GNSS In-Orbit Demonstration program” this paper will provide a technical description of the OCAM-G system and its individual components. Furthermore the accomplished hardware and software qualification program is shortly described. In the second part the paper will present and discuss in detail the results of the maiden flight on Ariane-5. It will illustrate the strengths and week points of the use of GNSS technology in launcher applications and provide suggestions for future developments. Furthermore an outlook is provided on a potential second flight experiment.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
IAC-15,D2,4,8,x29870.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).
To get the manuscript, please contact IAF Secretariat.