Dear Colleagues,

Attitude determination of a space platform is a key task for mission success; it is at the basis of attitude control, which is crucial for almost all onboard operations, such as communications, payload operation, thermal control, power generation, and navigation. Hence, for the aforementioned kind of tasks, accurate onboard knowledge of satellite attitude is needed with respect to external references (the inertial reference frame, Earth, Sun, etc.). Further, the concept of distributed space systems is receiving increasing attention for both current and future space missions, e.g., for remote sensing and space exploration applications. In this respect, modern, state-of-the art space systems must be conceived for operation in coordination, with or without cooperation, between two or more platforms. Consequently, technologies that are able to accurately estimate and control the relative attitude (or the full relative pose, in some cases) are needed.

This Special Issue deals with all kinds of sensors and applications for absolute and relative satellite attitude determination, with focus on sensor technology, sensor data processing, multiple-sensor integration, sensor-specific algorithms for attitude determination, sensor design and modeling, sensor calibration and testing, and ground test facilities. Original research contributions as well as state-of-the-art reviews on these topics are welcomed.

Prof. Dr. Giancarlo Rufino
Prof. Dr. Roberto Opromolla
Guest Editors

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• Satellite attitude
• Relative attitude
• Relative pose
• Attitude determination
• Sensor calibration
• Sensor testing
• Hardware-in the loop tests
• Sensor modeling
• Sensor design
• Attitude sensors ground test