Orion - A low-cost demonstration of formation flying in space using GPS

This paper describes research on the design of a GPS based relative position and attitude sensing mission called Orion. The current Orion design consists of a #eet of 6 micro-satellites launched simultaneously into low Earth orbit to demonstrate coordinated attitude control, relativenavigation and control, and formation initialization techniques in space. This approach represents a new systems architecture that provides many performance and operations advantages, such as reduced operating cost, enhanced mission #exibility, and improved science observations. Akey objective of Orion is to demonstrate CarrierPhase Di#erential GPS #CDGPS# techniques to autonomously track the relative position and attitude between several spacecraft. Based on a research program focused on low-cost spacecraft design, Orion represents a critical step towards the realization of formation #ying and virtual platform capabilities.