Fine Spinning Sun Sensor (±64°)
Adcole Space (Redwire)
A high-accuracy spinning spacecraft sun sensor with redundant optical heads and electronics delivering better performance than the Miniature variant, for sun acquisition and attitude determination.
Typed specifications34 values
Discloses 6 of 8 fields engineers filter by in this category (category median 4).
- Accuracy
- 0.1 ° Aspect Angle 0° to 40° · datasheet p.2 0.25 ° Aspect Angle 40° to 64° | 0.1 ° aspect angle, 0° to 40° | 0.25 ° aspect angle, 40° to 64° | 0.1 ° Sun Pulse at 0° +5
- Mass
- 109 g sensor, nominal (0.24 lb) · datasheet p.2 475 g min · Electronics | 725 g max · Electronics | 475–725 g electronics (1.05 lb to 1.6 lb) | 109 g nom. · Sensor
- Envelope (L×W×H)
- sensor 2.6" x 1.3" x 1.0" (66 x 33 x 25 mm); electronics 2.0" x 3.2" x 3.5" (51 x 82 x 89 mm) datasheet p.2 51×82×89 mm Electronics | 66×33×25 mm Sensor
- Output type
- analog Fine Data (Vsine, Vcosine, Vbias) · datasheet p.2 digital Parallel Coarse Data | analog Sun Pulse (one per revolution) | other sun pulse (one per revolution), parallel coarse data, fine da…
- Field of view
- 64 ° ±64° fan-shaped (each sensor) · datasheet p.2 64 ° half-angle, Fan-shaped (each sensor)
- Supply voltage
- 28 V nom. · datasheet p.2 21 V min | 35 V max | 28 V nom. · 28 ± 7 VDC (other ranges available)
- Power consumption
- 0.4 W Typical power dissipation · datasheet p.2 0.4 W typ. · dissipation
- Sensor class
- fine datasheet p.1 spinning-satellite slit attitude determination of spinning spacecraft, sun pulse once…
- Axes
- 1 1 plus sun pulse (each sensor) · datasheet p.2
- Flight heritage
- ERG, BSAT-2, IMAGE, INDOSTAR, KOREASAT, INMARSAT, GPS IIR, GGS, AURORA, GEOTAIL, DBS, MST5, VIKING, SAN MARCOS, SCATHA, ISEE-C, TELSAT, BSE, SATCOM. all Mars Rovers, New Horizons, Juno, and the Parker Solar Probe. datasheet p.1
Each value is typed with its unit and measurement condition and cites the datasheet page it was taken from. Nothing is guessed: a field that is absent here has not been published by the manufacturer. machine-extracted ✓ checked by NewSpace Market ✓ manufacturer confirmed by the manufacturer.
As published by the supplier7 lines, in the manufacturer's own wording
- Field of view
- ±64°
- Dry mass
- 0.71 kg
- Average power
- 0.4 W
- Architecture
- Redundant — 1 optical head per electronics channel
- Application
- Spinning spacecraft attitude determination, sun acquisition, fail-safe recovery
- Flight heritage
- Yes
- Status
- In Production
About
The Adcole Space Fine Spinning Sun Sensor (±64°) provides better accuracy and resolution than the Miniature Spinning Sun Sensor, making it the preferred choice for spinning spacecraft that require more precise attitude determination. The sensor features a redundant architecture, with one optical head paired to each electronics channel, providing graceful degradation and fail-safe operation.
Designed for spinning spacecraft attitude determination, the Fine Spinning Sun Sensor supports sun acquisition operations and fail-safe recovery in addition to normal attitude determination. The redundant configuration with paired optical heads and electronics channels ensures continued operation if one channel fails, critical for long-duration missions.
The sensor covers a ±64° field of view — sufficient to capture the sun across the full range of spin axis orientations encountered in typical spin-stabilized satellite operations. At 0.71 kg and 0.4 W average power, it is compact and power-efficient while delivering higher accuracy than the miniature variant.
Documentation
- SatCatalog_-_Adcole_Maryland_Aerospace_-_Fine_Spinning_Sun_Sensor_-_Datasheet.pdf PDF source: satcatalog.s3.amazonaws.com ↗
Need the full ICD, test reports or a specific revision? Ask the supplier directly.