Abstract:According to the filtering method and navigation precision, the layout of field-of-view of a composite optical sensor with four mirrors is presented. A kind of high-precision method of autonomous navigation based on the sensor is given. The method is that the simultaneity measurement of the earth, navigational star and refraction star by the four mirrors of the sensor, and autonomous navigation for satellite is realized through geometrical position among satellite, the earth, star direction. Also the measurement acquisitions in autonomous celestial navigation simulation have been studied. Five practicable working modes of complex optical sensor are proposed. A simulation model is set up using filtering algorithm of Kalman, and the system simulation is made using simulative data at the basic of an earth-pointing satellite with a certain orbit altitude. The simulation results show that the working mode of double earth-sensing and single stellar refraction provides the highest navigation accuracy. It’s better than 20m.