Development and validation of full-field simulation imaging technology for star sensors under hypersonic aero-optical...

Hypersonic vehicles equipped with star sensors operating in near-space environments experience aero-optical effects caused by the surrounding high-temperature and high-pressure flow fields. These effects significantly degrade the sensor's imaging capability, damage image quality, and lead to failures in attitude determination calculations. To investigate the impact of aero-optical effects on the imaging and detection performance of star sensors on hypersonic platforms, this paper first proposes a simulation technique for aero-optical effects on full-field star sensor imaging and analyzes the detection capability of the star sensor in the visible spectrum under flight conditions ranging from 6 to 16 Ma. Next, to address the challenging hypersonic flight conditions, the paper discusses optimization strategies for enhancing the detection capability of the star sensor, considering factors such as the detection wavelength band, installation configuration, and optical system design. Finally, to validate the reliability of the simulation technique in this paper, a detonation-driven shock tunnel experiment for star observation is designed, and a comparative analysis of the experimental results is conducted from the perspectives of light transmission effects and thermal radiation effects. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed simulation technique can accurately predict the detection capability of the star sensor under hypersonic conditions, with simulation errors controlled within 30%.