LAPAN-A2 Microsatellite Performance on Target Pointing Maneuver for Imaging Mission

The objective of the target pointing maneuver is to observe in detail a specific area on the Earth's surface when the satellite passes over with the camera direction fixed on the target. In this research, LAPAN-A2 is used to implement the target pointing maneuver to acquire the image in the Earth observation mission. Then, there are evaluations of the performance of the Attitude Control System (ACS) during the maneuver. The maneuver is conducted in the open-loop control mode by giving a specific angular rate profiled as parabolic. AGI System Tool Kit (STK) is used for simulating satellite orbit and determining the angular rate profile, elevation, and azimuth angle by computing access from the satellite to the target. Then, the maneuver is arranged by several command sequences in the X-axis and Y-axis directions. As a result, the maneuver presented in this research shows that the LAPAN-A2 satellite can perform the target-pointing maneuver. Then, the ACS evaluation shows the satellite is quite stable in the roll and yaw axis. However, there is a delayed target lock around 5 seconds, and the initial pitch error of 0.524° led the location drifts off the target to approximately 38 km long.