Simulation system of high accuracy star images based on star sensor

A star image simulation system was designed to test the performance of a star sensor on the ground for satisfying the requirement of accuracy and reliability of the start simulation. According to technical index, the fundamentals of star simulation were discussed, and then the system overall scheme was determined. The process of star map simulation method was established, and the fundamentals and implementation method of auxiliary field calibration, converting the magnitude into grayscale, coordinate transforming and star map display were described in details. The linear brightness correction and the nonlinear correction method based on measurement data were proposed to solve the problems that exist in the traditional conversion between magnitude and gray. The corresponding model was established and then was put forward the distortion correction method to solve the star positional deviation caused by distortion of the optical system. Finally, the star simulation was implemented with static and dynamic displays, and a double-screen was used to synchronize display by the thumbnail and an external monitor. The FK5 star catalogue was used in experiment, and the simulating results indicate that the system implements the simulation on the field of view of 10.5°×7.5° and star magnitude of -4.6~6 accurately, meanwhile the star location distortion error keeps within 0.017%.