Preface
Pulsars are the remnants that result from supernova explosion of the massive stars
after evolving very long time and combining gravitational collapse, and belong to
high-speed rotation neutron stars, with extremely stable periodicity, thereby known
as the most stable clocks in nature. Using the X-ray photons radiated from the pulsars
as natural beacons, the process in which the spacecrafts can determine autonomously
their orbit, time and attitude parameters to guide them to fly to the target orbits or
target celestial body along the designed orbits safely, effectively and just in time is
called X-ray Pulsar-based Navigation (XPNAV) or Pulsar Navigation. Because
the X-ray photons are unable to pass through the dense atmosphere of the Earth,
they can be detected only in space outside the atmosphere. Apparently, the pulsar
navigation can provide the navigation information services for the spacecrafts in
the near-earth orbits, deep space and interstellar space, as well as the rovers on the
surface of the planets without dense atmosphere, but not directly for the users on the
ground. So, the pulsar is also known as the lighthouse for space flight, and hereby the
pulsar navigation is substantially a kind of space navigation. The pulsar navigation
has important engineering value and scientific research significance, and has been
a research hotspot in the field of astronautical frontier and disruptive technology in
the past 15 years.
Since 2005, my research team and I have been carrying out studies on the theories
and methods of the pulsar navigation system. In 2009, the first book on the pulsar
navigation co-authored by my colleague and myself, X-ray Pulsar-based Navigation:
Principle and Methodology, was published by China Astronautic Publishing House.
In 2013, the research team made a breakthrough in the studies on key technologies of the pulsar navigation, developed several types of X-ray detector prototypes
and products, and constructed a set of ground test system. In 2015, a pulsar navigation test satellite, known as XPNAV-1, was developed by the research team. In
November 2016, the world’s first dedicated pulsar navigation test satellite XPNAV-1
was successfully launched into the orbit from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center of
China, carrying out the space flight test, to test the performances of the X-ray detectors and demonstrate the feasibility of the pulsar navigation system. At the time,
the National Defense Industry Press of China was publishing the second book on
the pulsar navigation written by myself, Pulsars: the Lighthouse for Space Flight,
v
Pulsars are the remnants that result from supernova explosion of the massive stars
after evolving very long time and combining gravitational collapse, and belong to
high-speed rotation neutron stars, with extremely stable periodicity, thereby known
as the most stable clocks in nature. Using the X-ray photons radiated from the pulsars
as natural beacons, the process in which the spacecrafts can determine autonomously
their orbit, time and attitude parameters to guide them to fly to the target orbits or
target celestial body along the designed orbits safely, effectively and just in time is
called X-ray Pulsar-based Navigation (XPNAV) or Pulsar Navigation. Because
the X-ray photons are unable to pass through the dense atmosphere of the Earth,
they can be detected only in space outside the atmosphere. Apparently, the pulsar
navigation can provide the navigation information services for the spacecrafts in
the near-earth orbits, deep space and interstellar space, as well as the rovers on the
surface of the planets without dense atmosphere, but not directly for the users on the
ground. So, the pulsar is also known as the lighthouse for space flight, and hereby the
pulsar navigation is substantially a kind of space navigation. The pulsar navigation
has important engineering value and scientific research significance, and has been
a research hotspot in the field of astronautical frontier and disruptive technology in
the past 15 years.
Since 2005, my research team and I have been carrying out studies on the theories
and methods of the pulsar navigation system. In 2009, the first book on the pulsar
navigation co-authored by my colleague and myself, X-ray Pulsar-based Navigation:
Principle and Methodology, was published by China Astronautic Publishing House.
In 2013, the research team made a breakthrough in the studies on key technologies of the pulsar navigation, developed several types of X-ray detector prototypes
and products, and constructed a set of ground test system. In 2015, a pulsar navigation test satellite, known as XPNAV-1, was developed by the research team. In
November 2016, the world’s first dedicated pulsar navigation test satellite XPNAV-1
was successfully launched into the orbit from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center of
China, carrying out the space flight test, to test the performances of the X-ray detectors and demonstrate the feasibility of the pulsar navigation system. At the time,
the National Defense Industry Press of China was publishing the second book on
the pulsar navigation written by myself, Pulsars: the Lighthouse for Space Flight,
v