Acta Astronautica 176 (2020) 531–541

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Acta Astronautica
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/actaastro

NASA SEXTANT Mission Operations Architecture

Wayne H. Yu a, *, Sean R. Semper a, Jason W. Mitchell a, Luke B. Winternitz a,
Munther A. Hassouneh a, Samuel R. Price a, Paul S. Ray b, Kent S. Wood c, Keith C. Gendreau a,
Zaven Arzoumanian a
a
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, 8800 Greenbelt Road, Greenbelt, MD, 20771, USA
b
U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC, 20375, USA
c
Praxis Inc., Resident at Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC, 20375, USA

A B S T R A C T

The Station Explorer for X-ray Timing and Navigation Technology (SEXTANT) mission is a technology demonstration enhancement to the Neutron Star Interior
Composition Explorer (NICER) mission, a NASA Astrophysics Explorer Mission of Opportunity to the International Space Station (ISS) that was launched in June of
2017. The NICER instrument is a precision pointing X-ray telescope that tags pulsar sourced photon arrivals which the SEXTANT mission uses to perform autonomous
on-board X-ray Pulsar Navigation (XNAV). By comparing the detected time of arrival of X-ray photons to a reference of expected pulsar timing models, one can infer a
range and range rate measurement based on light time delay. Since the celestial source provides both timing and directional information, this technology could
provide a GPS like navigation capability available throughout the Solar System and beyond. Applications that XNAV can support include outer planet and interstellar
missions, manned missions, libration orbit missions, and current infrastructure such as the Deep Space Network (DSN). The SEXTANT team successfully completed a
first demonstration of in-space and autonomous XNAV in November 2017. NICER and SEXTANT have separate teams, with NICER being the primary team with
different science objectives. Operational modes for both missions must have concurrent and independent components as well as an integrated ground system. This
paper describes the operational infrastructure and successful implementation of the SEXTANT demonstration. This paper first details the infrastructure implemented,
the concept of operations, and finally the operations for the SEXTANT demonstration and lessons learned.

spacecraft mission profiles with little pre-existing navigation infra­

1. Introduction
Station Explorer for X-ray Timing and Navigation Technology
(SEXTANT) [1] is a NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) Space
Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) Game Changing Development
Program Office (GCD) funded technology demonstration enhancement
to the Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) mission [2].
NICER is a NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD) astrophysics
mission of opportunity to the International Space Station (ISS), which
launched in June 2017 and is currently operating on the ISS, seen in
Fig. 1. The NICER mission had a nominal 18-month duration, with a
6-month guest observer program, for a total 24-month duration.
Recently, NICER was granted an additional 3-year mission extension.
X-ray Pulsar Navigation (XNAV) is a space navigation technique that
calculates a spacecraft state by comparing the detected time of arrival of
X-ray photons at a spacecraft to a reference timing model. Pulsars have a
distinct and periodic signature of pulsating X-ray photons, so the offset
of detections to a reference can be used as a range/range rate navigation
measurement. With the reference already on-board and a sensor to
detect pulsar photon arrivals, XNAV provides a navigation source in
structure. With these properties, the common use case for XNAV is deep
space navigation in support of the Deep Space Network (DSN) [3].
However, prior to SEXTANT, the technology had not been demon­
strated on-board and in real-time in space. SEXTANT provided a defin­
itive in-space demonstration of the feasibility and the potential of XNAV
as an independent autonomous navigation capability [4].
NICER, the primary science mission with SEXTANT, has a funda­
mental science objective to study the modulation of soft X-ray light
curves from the rotation of neutron stars. The NICER mission designed
and primarily operates the instrument, a directional X-ray timing tele­
scope that points its co-aligned array of optics serially at individual
pulsar targets to achieve its time tagging accuracy requirements [5].
On-board the instrument, the SEXTANT flight software works with
NICER flight software to tap into the same data stream of time tagged
X-ray photon arrivals. SEXTANT flight software then utilized, on-board
and in real-time, the data to generate navigation measurements and
maintain position knowledge of an initially degraded ISS state from the
NICER Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver. Additional published
details on SEXTANT include the SEXTANT flight system testing [6] in
2016, initial flight demonstration [4] in 2018, and additional results [7]

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: wayne.h.yu@nasa.gov (W.H. Yu).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actaastro.2020.06.040
Received 30 January 2020; Received in revised form 29 March 2020; Accepted 25 June 2020
Available online 28 June 2020
0094-5765/© 2020 IAA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
W.H. Yu et al. Acta Astronautica 176 (2020) 531–541

as:
Acronyms/abbreviations Primary Objective: Provide the first demonstration of real-time, on-
board XNAV as a non-interfering subsystem of NICER.
DSN Deep Space Network Key Performance Parameter (KPP): Achieve better than 10 km
ELC ExPRESS Logistics Carrier orbit determination accuracy, any direction, using up to 2-weeks of
EOP Earth Orientation Parameters observations. For convenience, this is translated into better than 17.3
GCD Game Changing Development Program Office km Root Sum Square (RSS).
GPS Global Positioning System Stretch Objective: Achieve 1 km orbit determination accuracy, any
GSFC Goddard Space Flight Center direction, using up to 4-weeks of observations. For convenience, this is
ISS International Space Station translated into better than 1.7 km RSS.
JSC Johnson Space Center Experiments: The following Navigation Experiments (NEs) were
KPP Key Performance Parameter planned:
MSFC Marshall Space Flight Center
NE Navigation Experiment NE1: 2-week period observing 3–5 pulsars early in the mission, with
NICER Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer timing models derived from terrestrial radio telescope data.
NRL Naval Research Laboratory NE2: 2-week period observing 3–5 pulsars later in the mission, with
RSS Root Sum Square timing models derived from NICER data.
SEXTANT Station Explorer for X-ray Timing and Navigation
Technology In addition, opportunistic on-orbit experiments and ground pro­
SMD Science Mission Directorate cessing experiments were planned during nominal NICER science
SMOC Science Mission Operations Center operations.
STMD Space Technology Mission Directorate
TOA Time-of-Arrival 3. Operations architecture
XNAV X-ray Pulsar Navigation
The following sections detail the SEXTANT ground system and the
on-orbit concept of operations. As the XNAV demonstration is real-time
and on-board a science payload, the ground system is designed for the
flight software to work autonomously alongside science operations.
Consequently, SEXTANT ground system upload command data and
telemetry are part of the NICER Science Mission Operations Center
(SMOC) operational baseline stationed out at GSFC.

3.1. Ground system overview

The SEXTANT ground system is a component of multiple operations

Fig. 1. Circled NICER instrument image on the ISS.
in 2018. Analysis on future XNAV work by evolving the current
formulation of SEXTANT can be found in Ref. [8].
In this paper, we focus on the ground system and operations used to
successfully implement the SEXTANT mission. It is a mission that re­
quires interfaces with the NICER science mission operations team, the
Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) for ground software updates, and the
Johnson Space Center (JSC)/Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) op­
erations team as an external ISS payload.
This paper is an extension to a conference paper presented in October
2019 in Refs. [9]. This is an operations specific publication of a series of
upcoming SEXTANT submissions which include Refs. [10,11]. These
two other references provide a deeper overview of the entire SEXTANT
mission including hardware/software ground testing, algorithms, and
calibration results and performance.
2. Technical objectives
A subset of the technology demonstration requirements are detailed
in Ref. [1]. The broader SEXTANT technical objectives are summarized
teams (the others being the NICER SMOC and NRL operation teams) at
GSFC. Presented in Fig. 2, SEXTANT commands and data uploads to the
NICER instrument passes through multiple layers: the payload opera­
tions team at MSFC to the JSC ISS operations team to White Sands
ground stations to the ISS ExPRESS Logistics Carrier (ELC) hardware
during open contact passes. Commands and uplinks to the instrument
are dependent on approvals and protocol from these command centers.
The SEXTANT ground system processes multiple products such as:
pulsar timing knowledge from other observatories (called the pulsar
almanac here), X-ray photon and radiation background events/telemetry
from the NICER instrument, and commands and planned observation
schedules from the SEXTANT flight software. The pulsar almanac is a
flight software input compilation of applicable pulsar data needed to
generate XNAV measurements: timing ephemerides, pulse profile tem­
plates, pulsar source and background photon count rates, event filtering
energy thresholds, etc. X-ray photon event telemetry from the NICER
instrument is used to tune the flight software between experimental
runs. With these products, the SEXTANT ground system generates
observation schedule products and a flight software upload. Then, when
commanded, the SEXTANT flight software begins processing NICER
observations and performs its on-board autonomous processing of XNAV
measurements.
The following sections detail the initial ground system delivery
process, the SEXTANT and NRL operational interface, and the SEXTANT
and NICER interfaces.
3.2. Ground system details
This section focuses on the GSFC component of Fig. 2 by starting with
Fig. 3. In broad terms, three inputs are generated and a single upload is
sent to the instrument. First, the ISS operations system inputs attitude

532
W.H. Yu et al.
Fig. 2. Overall ground system architecture including the SEXTANT ground system.
and state prediction data to the NICER SMOC system detailed in
Ref. [13]. Flow chart components in the right column of Fig. 3 represent
actions and products developed by the NICER operations team. Second,
the astrophysics community coordinates with NRL to input reference
time fitted pulsar timing models from ground based radio telescopes.
The NRL flow chart components are in the left column. Third, external
Earth orientation parameter data is input directly to the SEXTANT
ground system for SEXTANT flight software calibration. The center
column encompasses all SEXTANT related ground system flow chart
components. All inputs come into the flow chart in Fig. 3 at Step 1, the
top of the chart where the green arrows point into the flow chart. These
three datasets are then processed together to produce the final upload to
the NICER instrument for commanding and flight software configuration
updates. These products can be seen as a red arrow at the bottom right
pointing out of the flow chart in Fig. 3 Step 9. The SEXTANT team per­
forms this process in the flow diagram on a 3-day cadence, with the
interfaces of SEXTANT with NICER and NRL detailed in the next section.
3.2.1. NICER SMOC/SEXTANT interface
The NICER and SEXTANT operations team interface stems from
variability of ISS data and observation scheduling for multiple science/
navigation priorities from two teams. Fig. 4 details this interface as it
ingests both ISS data and Earth Orientation Parameters (EOP) data into
the process (expanding Fig. 3 NICER SMOC/SEXTANT: Steps 2–7). The
NICER science team submits a pulsar target catalog and visibility con­
straints file to specify additional targets and changes to the threshold on
multiple occultation sources. A cone angle restriction of visibility along
the pulsar target line of sight is applied to ISS hardware, ISS radiation
sources, celestial body, solar glint, and South Atlantic Anomaly and
Polar Horn regions. These data products allow both the NICER and
SEXTANT teams to plan adjacent target observations during all opera­
tional modes of the mission. Iterative loops within Fig. 4 account for
visibility model/ISS data updates and operation discussions on
533
Acta Astronautica 176 (2020) 531–541
observation priorities. Afterwards, both teams use multiple scheduling
algorithms to generate the final schedule part of the instrument upload.
During operations, the NICER team has priority on observation sched­
uling. During the first navigation experiment (NE1) demo, the SEXTANT
team has priority. The next paragraph goes into the scheduling algo­
rithms used on SEXTANT. The SEXTANT ground system uses three
distinct algorithms to generate candidate observation schedules
(Expanding Fig. 3 SEXTANT: step 3). These candidate schedules are then
evaluated by running Monte Carlo simulations within a separate
SEXTANT endtoend simulation detailed in Refs. [6,10]. The schedule
with the best performance in these simulations is then selected by the
SEXTANT team. The first scheduler is a modified NICER scheduling tool
which is also used in Fig. 4 (NICER SMOC: step 6). This technique uses a
multiobjective evolutionary non-dominated genetic algorithm variant of
the NSGA-II formulation detailed in Ref. [14] and optimizes observation
intervals of the selected target list for two criteria: minimum time not on
pulsar targets (during slew/idling) and minimum homogeneity of ob­
servations (the ratio of targets requested vs. targets observed). The
system was iterated up to 30 generations to balance priorities versus
computation time. The second scheduler uses the same genetic algo­
rithm but adds a navigation metric to the objective function. This metric
prioritizes observation schedules that minimize the orbit semi-major
axis variance calculated from a batch least squares fit of the resultant
XNAV measurements of an entire schedule. The third scheduler calcu­
lates a deterministic local greedy solution to minimize the navigation
filter’s semi-major axis formal error. In this scheduler, observation
schedules are built for the next potential XNAV measurement for every
pulsar target and the algorithm propagates the initial covariance and
applies each potential measurement at its scheduled time. The scheduler
then continues to pick the schedule that produces the minimum pro­
jected orbit semi-major formal error until the desired observation
schedule length is achieved [6]. All three algorithms were used in the
analysis and operations of the SEXTANT demonstration.
W.H. Yu et al.
Fig. 3. Primary operations flow diagram of the SEXTANT ground system with NICER SMOC and NRL interfaces.
3.2.2. NRL/SEXTANT interface
NRL helps collaborate and organize pulsar almanac data as an input
to SEXTANT operations to characterize the pulsar sources for any
changes in timing model behavior and design. Fig. 5 details the NRL flow
chart components (expanding Fig. 3 NRL: Step 2). The data starts with
the reference time fitted models from radio sources and X-ray photon
data from the NICER instrument as a baseline to generate the Time-of-
Arrival (TOA) models [6]. The SEXTANT ground software then takes
the data and generates a software configuration upload with on-board
TOA data. Corrections are included at this stage with on-board telem­
etry on clock corrections, leap seconds, and solar system ephemeris data
[6]. Finally, the data is fitted one more time and delivered for processing
as a pulsar almanac reference (PAR) file. Once the files are delivered, the
data is used to model any recent changes to the pulsar timing models.
With the entire ground system, nightly runs use the most recent input
data with the SEXTANT ground software in order to predict filter per­
formance and manage any ground system issues [1]. Prior to upload, all
products are reviewed and approved by both operation teams and
confirmed through the Verification flow blocks (Fig. 3 NICER SMOC/­
SEXTANT: Steps 5,8). The NICER operations team then uploads output
products to the NICER instrument and the SEXTANT flight software.
Once the data is uploaded from the ground system, the on-board
flight software performs photon event filtering and state estimation
using NICER instrument data driven by the uploaded observation
schedule and uploaded configuration parameters. A broad summary is
given here on the process with much more detail in Refs. [6]. Starting
with a degraded state from the ISS GPS reciever, the NICER instrument
photon arrivals are observed by intensity and arrival time until the flight
software estimator determines that the pattern of photon arrivals
534
Acta Astronautica 176 (2020) 531–541
matches the expected pulsar’s lightcurve profile. The length of obser­
vation time needed is dependent on how distinct the lightcurve profile is
and the amount of X-ray background radiation. Once the pattern is
confirmed, an offset in the pattern will exist since the reference timing
model is not centered at the spacecraft. The software estimates that
offset and its rate and then translates it into range and range rate nav­
igation measurements in the direction of the pulsar line of sight. These
measurements are then used in an extended Kalman filter to track the
ISS state [6]. Operations on the ground are independent of this on-board
flight software; it only provides configuration uploads and observation
schedules prior to the demonstration [4].
3.3. Concept of operations
SEXTANT operations has two baseline operational modes: primary
experiment/demonstration (SEXTANT team drives operations on the
NICER instrument while the NICER team supports) and opportunistic
(NICER team drives operations and SEXTANT supports). The 2-week
demonstration period is the primary SEXTANT experiment concept of
operations, but opportunistic mode was set to use NICER operations to
perform SEXTANT calibration and other research prior to and after the
demonstration.
Both modes consist of the same data processing of observation
schedules and timing models; the process repeats for a 3-day cycle.
During opportunistic mode, the SEXTANT team reviews daily Monte
Carlo runs and other telemetry data from the flight software to deter­
mine if the SEXTANT team will upload data or propose an observation
schedule for the next 3-day cycle.
The date for the demonstration was negotiated months before with
W.H. Yu et al. Acta Astronautica 176 (2020) 531–541

Fig. 4. Secondary flow diagram detailing NICER and SEXTANT ground system interfaces.

Fig. 5. Secondary flow diagram detailing NRL and SEXTANT ground system interfaces.

the NICER team. To determine a candidate period for a demonstration, evaluated for all pulsar targets. The timing model accuracy testing
both operation and performance metrics were considered. For opera­ during calibration was also factored in determining a demonstration
tions, the seasonal visibility as well as statistical day to day visibility was date [4]. Finally, timing model glitches and any hardware performance

535
W.H. Yu et al.
was evaluated alongside the NICER team. Once the date was deter­
mined, the demonstration repeated the same 3-day cycle, with the
exception that the maximum allotted time was scheduled for SEXTANT
observations. In summary, Fig. 6 constitutes the 2–3 month planning
cycle to determine the 2-week demon-stration, and Fig. 7 constitutes the
operations timeline for the 2-week demonstration.
4. Mission operations
Modifications to the original concept of operations occurred while
on-orbit. The first subsection describes those changes. The second and
final subsection describes the operations timeline that began November
9th, 2017 and successfully demonstrated on-orbit, autonomous, real-
time X-ray pulsar navigation. This paper does a basic overview of the
results with a focus on operations. SEXTANT technical and project level
detail can be found in Refs. [4,7,10, 11].
4.1. NE1 demonstration operations preparation
While on-orbit, changes to the SEXTANT operations architecture in
preparation for the demonstration involved calibration, pulsar visibility,
and ISS operations modeling.
Calibration of the photon processing and instrument observations of
pulsar targets was performed from day of year 259–265 of 2017. The
results were presented in Ref. [4] and was based on a proposed schedule
plan driven by NICER to capture timing data prior to solar occultation in
mid-November. End to end ground processing of the flight data was
performed in parallel with calibration and an example of this perfor­
mance is shown in Fig. 8.
One of the two major adjustments was tuning scheduling and visi­
bility models for updated hardware restrictions. The ISS articulating
hardware models needed initial tuning beyond the standard computer
aided design models originally used by the team. The impact of these
changed models drove most of the schedule efficiency on pulsar targets.
In total, 87% of the total operation time of NICER was spent on sched­
uled pulsar targets (denoted as schedule efficiency in the rest of this
paper). After calibration testing, the SEXTANT team decided to reduce
pulsar observations based on a 2D orbit ground track to reduce X-ray
background noise. The resultant SEXTANT observation keep out regions
within the ISS ground track are seen in Fig. 15 as colored boundary
regions around the top and bottom of the image. In general, these depict
a conservative region around the South Atlantic Anomaly and northern
and southern polar horn regions in low Earth orbit. This reduced time on
SEXTANT pulsar targets. As this reduction was unique to the SEXTANT
team, the NICER team used the transit time to make other observations
Fig. 6. Long term operation timeline concurrent with both NICER/SEXTANT operations.
536
Acta Astronautica 176 (2020) 531–541
outside of the SEXTANT schedule. Out of the 87% pulsar schedule effi­
ciency on NICER pulsar targets, these additional adjustments resulted in
an average 33% schedule efficiency on SEXTANT targets during the
demonstration (see Table 1).
ISS operations, being a priority, also drove SEXTANT operations. The
ISS docking schedule resulted in changes in the delivery and content of
ephemeris and attitude products of the ISS for planning any instrument
pointing on ISS. All major ISS events from the NICER launch until the
SEXTANT demonstration are listed in Table 2 and found online at
reference [15]:
Each of the events in Table 2 modified the mass, atmospheric drag,
attitude profiles, and other ISS properties. Fig. 9 shows the property
changes of the ISS, starting at the week of the demonstration. The y-axes
include the mass, drag area, coefficient of drag (Cd), and solar beta angle
of the ISS. The asterisks indicate the predicted epoch of that property
change. As seen, the ISS mass can vary by thousands of kilograms and
hundreds of km2 of drag area within a day or two of propagation. During
on-orbit operations, predictive ISS data persisted on average 2–3 days
after upload. Finally, the physical structure of the ISS also drove changes
in the visibility models after launch. Modifications were made to
accommodate shape models of solar panels and radiators to avoid any
singularity in ray tracing pulsar line of sight. Furthermore, celestial
occultations drove keep-out zones with half cone angles of 15� /30� /45�
for the Moon/Earth/Sun, respectively. During planning, the three half
cone parameters were tuned to trade pulsar observation time and signal
noise.
The resultant chart for ideal SEXTANT target visibility is seen in
Fig. 14.
4.2. SEXTANT NE1 demonstration
A 3D graphical visual that displays the in-situ data during the
demonstration can be seen in Fig. 10.
The demonstration planning period was scheduled for November
8th, 2017 to November 22nd, 2017, with the formal demonstration
achieving SEXTANT requirements between November 10th, 2017 and
November 15th, 2017. The date was chosen to maximize the number of
visible SEXTANT targets. In particular, B1821-24 would be occulted
after November 12th, 2017 for two months. With the date chosen,
planning started with the delivery of ISS products by 05:00 UTC on
November 8th. The NICER operations team provided an initial visibility
report and planned observations at 08:56 UTC to SEXTANT and other
science partners. SEXTANT drove the schedule, with unscheduled time
by the SEXTANT team used for coordinated observations between
NICER and other science partners. After testing visibility constraints for
W.H. Yu et al. Acta Astronautica 176 (2020) 531–541

Fig. 7. Short term operation timeline during the SEXTANT demonstration.

Table 2
ISS operation event highlights prior to SEXTANT NE1 (July 2017 to early
November 2017).
Date (Month/Day/Year) Description

06/05/2017 SpaceX CRS-11 docks (with NICER payload)

06/16/2017 Progress 67 resupply ship docks
07/03/2017 SpaceX CRS-11 departs
07/20/2017 Progress 66 departs
07/28/2017 Soyuz MS-05 docks
08/16/2017 SpaceX CRS-12 docks
09/17/2017 SpaceX CRS-12 departs
09/27/2017 ISS orbital reboost maneuver
10/16/2017 Progress 68 docks

observations, the final product was uploaded to the instrument by 21:38

UTC. The next day, the flight software configuration upload was sent
and diagnostics were performed on the NICER X-ray telescopes prior to
the demonstration.
As a result, the final demonstration schedule and XNAV measure­
ments were generated in Figs. 11 and 12. Results are summarized here
and are much further detailed in Refs. [4,7,10, 11]. Fig. 11 shows the
Fig. 8. Day of year 259–265 ground calibration demonstration test.
availability of pulsars as colored bands with a cyan mark for the pulsar
that is scheduled. J0218þ4232 and B1821-24, with their evenly timed
Table 1 cadence of slews and timing accuracy, dominated the optimized
List of SEXTANT pulsars for navigation [12]. schedule for the first 4 days (11/08 to 11/12), after which other pulsar
targets took over as B1821-24 was occulted. Approximately 33% of the
Name Period Source Pulsed Rate (α, Total Unpulsed Rate (β,
(ms) cnts/s) cnts/s) total observations made in the schedule were on SEXTANT targets.
Figure 12 shows the resultant measurement residuals from each pulsar
Crab Pulsar 33.000 660.000 13860.20
B1937 þ 21 1.558 0.029 0.24
in blue, with the sigma residual limit in green and the rejected mea­
B1821 24 3.054 0.093 0.22 surements marked as red asterisks. The pulsar measurements were edi­
J0218 þ 4232 2.323 0.082 0.20 ted with a 10–60 km wavelength sigma edit, resulting in a several
J0030 þ 0451 4.865 0.193 0.20 hundred XNAV measurements. Finally, the flight performance of the
J1012 þ 5307 5.256 0.046 0.20
filter is shown in Fig. 13. Four pulsar targets were used: J0437-4715,
J0437 4715 5.757 0.283 0.62
J2124 3358 4.931 0.074 0.20 B1821-24, J0030þ0451, and J0218þ4232. Using these XNAV mea­
J2214 þ 3000 3.119 0.029 0.26 surements, a 10 km settled RSS performance criteria was achieved
J0751 þ 1807 3.479 0.025 0.22 within 7.5 hours and readings of the filter performance during the
J1024 0719 5.162 0.015 0.20 demonstration achieved lower than 1 km error with XNAV measure­
ments [4]. The results summarized here are further detailed in Ref. [4,7,
other science observations, the first draft observation schedule from the 10, 11].
SEXTANT team was submitted for review at 17:33 UTC, which was
optimized with SEXTANT targets. A second draft was updated by the 5. Conclusions
NICER team with their targets between SEXTANT observations. At 17:45
UTC, an unplanned update to the ISS attitude file was provided so a third The Station X-ray Timing and Navigation Technology (SEXTANT)
draft with SEXTANT and NICER updates was included. Finally, after the demonstration is a software enhancement to the Neutron star Interior
addition of short but high source flux Crab pulsar (B0531þ21) Composition Explorer (NICER) X-ray timing telescope science mission

537
W.H. Yu et al. Acta Astronautica 176 (2020) 531–541

Fig. 9. ISS Properties vs. 2017 Day of Year.

Fig. 10. NICER/SEXTANT 3D Model simulation during the SEXTANT demonstration.

on-board the International Space Station (ISS). Using the same timing
data as NICER, the SEXTANT mission utilizes, on-board and in real-time,
the same raw data to generate navigation measurements and maintain
position knowledge of an initially degraded ISS state from the NICER
GPS receiver.
This paper presents the SEXTANT ground system. It is an integrated
system with a command chain under ISS JSC and MSFC operations
teams. The ground system handles the need to accommodate operational
events on-board the space station as well as the science demands
required for the NICER science team. The ground system runs on two
modes of independent and concurrent operations alongside the NICER
team. The system collects the pulsar timing data, generates and sends
the upload with the observation schedule and timing calibration pa­
rameters, and observes the results in telemetry while the on-board flight
software separately demonstrates X-ray pulsar navigation by tracking
the ISS.

538
W.H. Yu et al. Acta Astronautica 176 (2020) 531–541

Fig. 11. SEXTANT experiment performance visibility and schedule.

Fig. 12. SEXTANT experiment performance XNAV measurement residuals.

Overall, the SEXTANT ground system underwent a series of changes

during operations which were lessons learned for future missions. The
ISS operations environment requires a greater degree of flexibility in
product delivery than originally designed; daily critical events can
change the mass, attitude, and configuration of the station. Combined
with the background and visibility environment, SEXTANT pulsar
observation time was around 33% of total operational time during the
NE1 demonstration. ISS predictive knowledge combined with timing
data products for ground operations were effective for 2–4 days. Even
with these changes, SEXTANT successfully demonstrated on-board, real-
time X-ray pulsar navigation.
The NE1 demonstration performed from November 10th to 15th,
2017 achieved the SEXTANT performance requirement of 10 km, worst
direction RSS tracking within its two week period. The 10 km settled RSS
performance criteria was achieved within 7.5 hours and readings of the
filter performance during the demonstration achieved lower than 1 km
error with XNAV measurements.

Declaration of competing interest

Fig. 13. SEXTANT experiment performance results. The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence

539
W.H. Yu et al.
Fig. 14. NICER/SEXTANT annual pulsar visibility.
Fig. 15. ISS/NICER instrument 2D ground track with drawn background radiation keepout regions during the SEXTANT demonstration.
the work reported in this paper.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to acknowledge Bob Kozon, John Pope,
Maxine Saylor, and George Wofford for their operations support for the
NICER instrument and advice on this paper. They would also like to
acknowledge the vast ISS operational team at MSFC and JSC for their
support.
The SEXTANT project and Naval Research Laboratory collaboration
with SEXTANT is funded by the NASA Space Technology Mission
Directorate, Game Changing Development Program.
References
[1] J.W. Mitchell, M.A. Hassouneh, L.M. Winternitz, J.E. Valdez, S.R. Price, S.
R. Semper, W.H. Yu, Z. Arzoumanian, P.S. Ray, K.S. Wood, R.J. Litchford, K.
540
Acta Astronautica 176 (2020) 531–541
C. Gendreau, SEXTANT — Station Explorer for X-ray Timing and Navigation
Technology, in: AIAA Guidance, Navigation, and Control Conference, AIAA
SciTech, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Jan. 2015.
[2] Z. Arzoumanian, K.C. Gendreau, C.L. Baker, T. Cazeau, P. Hestnes, J.W. Kellogg, S.
J. Kenyon, R.P. Kozon, K.-C. Liu, S.S. Manthripragada, C.B. Markwardt, A.
L. Mitchell, J.W. Mitchell, C.A. Monroe, T. Okajima, S.E. Pollard, D.F. Powers, B.
J. Savadkin, L.B. Winternitz, P.T. Chen, M.R. Wright, R. Foster, G. Prigozhin,
R. Remillard, J. Doty, The Neutron-Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER):
Mission Definition, in: Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation, vol. 9144,
International Society for Optics and Photonics, 2014, pp. 914420–914420–9.
[3] S.I. Sheikh, D.J. Pines, K.S. Wood, P.S. Ray, M.N. Lovellette, M.T. Wolff, Spacecraft
navigation using x-ray pulsars, AIAA Journal of Guidance, Controls, and Dynamics
29 (1) (2006) 49–63.
[4] J.W. Mitchell, L.B. Winternitz, M.A. Has- souneh, S.R. Price, S.R. Semper, W.H. Yu,
P.S. Ray, M.T. Wolff, M. Kerr, K.S. Wood, SEXTANT X-ray pulsar navigation
demonstration: initial on-orbit results, in: AAS Guidance and Control Conference,
(Springfield, VA), American Astronautical Society, February 2018.
[5] K.C. Gendreau, Z. Arzoumanian, P.W. Adkins, C.L. Albert, J.F. Anders, A.
T. Aylward, C.L. Baker, E.R. Balsamo, W.A. Bamford, S.S. Benegalrao, D.L. Berry,
S. Bhalwani, J.K. Black, C. Blaurock, G.M. Bronke, G.L. Brown, J.G. Budinoff, J.
D. Cantwell, T. Cazeau, P.T. Chen, T.G. Clement, A.T. Colangelo, J.S. Coleman, J.
W.H. Yu et al.
D. Coopersmith, W.E. Dehaven, J.P. Doty, M.D. Egan, T. Enoto, T.W.-M. Fan, D.
M. Ferro, R. Foster, N.M. Galassi, L.D. Gallo, C.M. Green, D. Grosh, K.Q. Ha, M.
A. Hasouneh, K.B. Heefner, P. Hestnes, L.J. Hoge, T.M. Jacobs, J.L. Jrgensen, M.
A. Kaiser, J.W. Kellogg, S.J. Kenyon, R.G. Koenecke, R.P. Kozon, B. LaMarr, M.
D. Lambertson, A.M. Larson, S. Lentine, J.H. Lewis, M.G. Lilly, K.A. Liu, A. Malonis,
S.S. Manthripragada, C.B. Markwardt, B.D. Matonak, I.E. Mcginnis, R.L. Miller, A.
L. Mitchell, J.W. Mitchell, J.S. Mohammed, C.A. Monroe, K.M.M. de Garcia, P.
D. Mul, L.T. Nagao, S.N. Ngo, E.D. Norris, D.A. Norwood, J. Novotka, T. Okajima,
L.G. Olsen, C.O. Onyeachu, H.Y. Orosco, J.R. Peterson, K.N. Pevear, K.K. Pham, S.
E. Pollard, J.S. Pope, D.F. Powers, C.E. Powers, S.R. Price, G.Y. Prigozhin, J.
B. Ramirez, W.J. Reid, R.A. Remillard, E.M. Rogstad, G.P. Rosecrans, J.N. Rowe, J.
A. Sager, C.A. Sanders, B. Savadkin, M.R. Saylor, A.F. Schaeffer, N.S. Schweiss, S.
R. Semper, P.J. Serlemitsos, L.V. Shackelford, Y. Soong, J. Struebel, M.L. Vezie, J.
S. Villasenor, L.B. Winternitz, G.I. Wofford, M.R. Wright, M.Y. Yang, W.H. Yu, The
Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER): Design and Development, in:
J.-W.A. den Herder, T. Takahashi, M. Bautz (Eds.), Space Tele- Scopes and
Instrumentation 2016: Ultraviolet To Gamma Ray, vol. 9905, International Society
for Optics and Photonics, SPIE, 2016, pp. 420–435.
[6] L.M.B. Winternitz, J.W. Mitchell, M.A. Hassouneh, J.E. Valdez, S.R. Price, S.
R. Semper, W.H. Yu, P.S. Ray, K.S. Wood, Z. Arzoumanian, K.C. Gendreau,
SEXTANT X-ray Pulsar Navigation Demonstration: Flight System and Test Results,
in: 2016 IEEE Aerospace Conference, Institute of Electrical and Electronics
Engineers, 2016, pp. 1–11.
[7] L.B. Winternitz, M.A. Hassouneh, J.W. Mitchell, S.R. Price, W.H. Yu, S.R. Semper,
P.S. Ray, K.S. Wood, Z. Arzoumanian, K.C. Gendreau, F.R. Marseille, SEXTANT X-
ray Pulsar Navigation Demonstration: Additional On-orbit Results, in: SpaceOps
Conference, AIAA, September 2018.
[8] J. Getchius, A. Long, M. Farahmand, L. Winternitz, M. Hassouneh, J. Mitchell, C.
O. Breckenridge, Predicted Performance of an X-ray navigation system for Future
541
Acta Astronautica 176 (2020) 531–541
Deep Space and Lunar Missions, in: Proceedings of the AAS Guidance, Navigation
and Control Conference, American Astronautical Society, February 2019.
[9] W. Yu, S. Semper, J. Mitchell, L. Winternitz, M. Hassouneh, S. Price, P. Ray,
K. Wood, K. Gendreau, Z. Arzoumanian, NASA Station Explorer for X-ray Timing
and Navigation Technology (SEXTANT) Mission Operations Architecture, in:
Proceedings Of the 70th International Astronautical Congress, International
Astronautical Federation, Washington, DC, October 2019.
[10] L.B. Winternitz, J.W. Mitchell, M.A. Hassouneh, S.R. Price, S.R. Semper, W.H. Yu,
P.S. Ray, M.T. Wolff, M. Kerr, K.S. Wood, Z. Arzoumanian, K.C. Gendreau,
L. Guillemot, I. Cognard, P. Demorest, B. Stappers, A. Lyne, SEXTANT X-ray Pulsar
Navigation Demonstration Part I: Pre-Flight Summary, Journal submission
(unpublished) 1 (2020).
[11] J.W. Mitchell, L.B. Winternitz, M.A. Hassouneh, S.R. Price, S.R. Semper, W.H. Yu,
P.S. Ray, M.T. Wolff, M. Kerr, K.S. Wood, Z. Arzouma- nian, K.C. Gendreau,
L. Guillemot, I. Cognard, P. Demorest, SEXTANT X-ray Pulsar Navigation
Demonstration: On-Orbit Results, Journal submission (unpublished) vol. 1 (2020).
[12] L.M.B. Winternitz, M.A. Hassouneh, J.W. Mitchell, J.E. Valdez, S.R. Price, S.
R. Semper, W.H. Yu, P.S. Ray, K.S. Wood, Z. Arzoumanian, K.C. Gendreau, X-ray
Pulsar Navigation Algorithms and Testbed for SEXTANT, in: IEEE Aerospace
Conference, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, March 2015.
[13] J.V. Shah, “ISS Trajectory Data for ISS Payload Customers,” Tech. Rep. JSC-CN-
33774, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, United States, July 2015,
20150014497.
[14] K. Deb, A. Pratap, S. Agarwal, T. Meryarivan, A fast and elitist multiobjective
genetic algorithm: NSGA-II, IEEE Trans. Evol. Comput. 6 (2) (2002) 182–197.
[15] NASA, International Space Station Events Blog, 2019. https://blogs.nasa.gov/spac
estation/.