A novel attitude guidance algorithm for exclusion zone avoidance

The Trailblazer spacecraft was designed to use an optical sensing instrument to track objects moving through space. This instrument would be damaged if pointed to within a certain angle of the sun. Therefore, a novel attitude guidance algorithm was developed to avoid pointing the instrument within this exclusion zone, while minimizing disruptions to target-tracking. Traditional obstacle-avoidance and path-planning algorithms do not suffice because such methods generally do not provide for adherence to an intrinsic desired continuous path. The algorithm´s computational demands do not present a problem for Trailblazer, owing to its high-performance computer.