Navigation and astronometry for nanosatellites at Census

CENSUS is the space pole for scientific nanosatellites at Paris Observatory, member of PSL University in France. We support scientific teams in their nanosatellite projects, from the observation concept to the mission profile, with a Model-Based System Engineering methodology. We also have COTS, a cleanroom and a ground station.

The topic of autonomous navigation in deep space has been explored as part of a supported project and has evolved as a domain of expertise for CENSUS: we have developed an optical navigation estimator for cruise and proximity operations. From there, several ideas have emerged as new projects: combining the estimator with radio-science data, adding on-board machine learning to save ADCS budget, techniques for “augmented” optical sensors to measure distant beacons.

The seminar will present CENSUS, with a special focus on our activities for deep space and astrometry.

Short bio
Dr. Segret defended his Ph.D. in Astronomy-Astrophysic on the topic of optical navigation for deep space CubeSats at Paris Observatory. He received an M.S. degree in Aerospace Engineering from ISAE-ENSMA French National College and an M.S. degree in Space Instrumentation from Paris Observatory. He is the Technical Officer of CENSUS, space pole of PSL Université (France), hosted at Paris Observatory, dedicated to scientific nanosatellites.