Chapter 5
X-ray Pulsar-Based Navigation: Theories
and Experiments
The pulsar is a high-speed rotating neutron star, with extremely stable periodicity.
Especially, the stability of pulse periods of millisecond pulsars gets to 10
−19
−10
−21
s/s, which is known as the most stable astronomical clock in nature. Pulsar navigation refers to a process that taking the X-ray photons radiated by the pulsars
as natural beacons, spacecrafts autonomously determine their orbit, time and attitude parameters to guide them to fly to the target obits or celestial bodies along
the designed trajectories safely, effectively and just in time, and its full name is
X-ray Pulsar-based Navigation (XPNAV). Because X-ray photons radiated from
the pulsars are unable to pass through the dense atmosphere of the Earth, the pulsar
navigation cannot directly be used for the movable objects on the Earth’s surface, and
it is essentially a kind of space navigation, which provides navigation information
services for the spacecrafts in near-earth orbit, deep space and interstellar space, as
well as the rovers on the surfaces of the planets without dense atmosphere. So, the
pulsars are also known as lighthouses for space flights.
In this chapter, the theories and experiments are attempting to explain the architecture and logical relations of the pulsar navigation from the perspective of top-level
design of a system, including basic concepts and principles, fundamental theories and
methods, mathematical models and algorithms, numerical experiments and results,
flight tests and verifications, and typical scenarios and applications. The so-called
system refers to an organic whole with specific functions, composed of a number of
related things or some subsystems with the connection in consciousness one another.
The purpose of combing the pulsar navigation system is to demonstrate its overall
picture, and further sketch the future of navigation satellite system.
© National Defense Industry Press and Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
P. Shuai, Understanding Pulsars and Space Navigations, Navigation: Science
and Technology 11, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-1067-7_5
273
X-ray Pulsar-Based Navigation: Theories
and Experiments
The pulsar is a high-speed rotating neutron star, with extremely stable periodicity.
Especially, the stability of pulse periods of millisecond pulsars gets to 10
−19
−10
−21
s/s, which is known as the most stable astronomical clock in nature. Pulsar navigation refers to a process that taking the X-ray photons radiated by the pulsars
as natural beacons, spacecrafts autonomously determine their orbit, time and attitude parameters to guide them to fly to the target obits or celestial bodies along
the designed trajectories safely, effectively and just in time, and its full name is
X-ray Pulsar-based Navigation (XPNAV). Because X-ray photons radiated from
the pulsars are unable to pass through the dense atmosphere of the Earth, the pulsar
navigation cannot directly be used for the movable objects on the Earth’s surface, and
it is essentially a kind of space navigation, which provides navigation information
services for the spacecrafts in near-earth orbit, deep space and interstellar space, as
well as the rovers on the surfaces of the planets without dense atmosphere. So, the
pulsars are also known as lighthouses for space flights.
In this chapter, the theories and experiments are attempting to explain the architecture and logical relations of the pulsar navigation from the perspective of top-level
design of a system, including basic concepts and principles, fundamental theories and
methods, mathematical models and algorithms, numerical experiments and results,
flight tests and verifications, and typical scenarios and applications. The so-called
system refers to an organic whole with specific functions, composed of a number of
related things or some subsystems with the connection in consciousness one another.
The purpose of combing the pulsar navigation system is to demonstrate its overall
picture, and further sketch the future of navigation satellite system.
© National Defense Industry Press and Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
P. Shuai, Understanding Pulsars and Space Navigations, Navigation: Science
and Technology 11, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-1067-7_5
273