Analysis of an Application where the Unscented Kalman Filter is not Appropriate

Abstract

In this work a spin stabilized rocket with a ring of lateral pulse jets for attitude correction and fins that open early in flight is simulated. The rocket is simulated with five different sensor packages: rate gyros only, rate gyros and an ideal magnetometer, rate gyros and a magnetometer, rate gyros and angle gyros, and rate gyros and angle gyros and a magnetometer. The gyros are microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices. All control effort must be applied in the first seconds of flight because of the properties of the rocket. A comparison of the Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) and the Unscented Kalman Filter (UKF) for each sensor suite is presented to determine the best approach to improve the circular probable error (CEP) of the rocket. A solution toWahba’s problem, the EStimator of the Optimal Quaternion (ESOQ) algorithm, is used for state estimation for certain sensor configurations. Wahba’s problem has traditionally been used for state estimation of orbiting satellites.