Control Moment Gyroscopes (CMG 15-45S / 40-60S / 75-75S)
Airbus Defence and Space
A range of compact, high-torque Control Moment Gyroscopes from Airbus for precise and agile satellite attitude control, covering satellites from 500 kg to 3 tonnes.
Key figurescomparable across the catalogue
- Mass
- 3,000 kg
Normalised to common units so this product can be compared with others in its category. The supplier's own wording is below.
As published by the supplier
- Models
- CMG 15-45S, CMG 40-60S, CMG 75-75S
- Applicable satellite mass range
- 500 kg to 3 tonnes
- Torque output
- Up to 75 Nm
- Design features
- Patented designs, integrated vibration dampers
- Cumulative in-orbit operational hours
- Over 1 million hours, without failures
- Flight heritage
- Over a decade of mission success in orbit
- Momentum
- 70 Nms to 75 Nms
- Torque
- 75 Nm
- Lifetime
- 10 years LEO
- Angular resolution
- 22 bits
- Pointing performance
- < 2 mrad in maneuver, < 0.1 mrad in quasi-static phase
- Angular momentum stability
- < 0.001%
- Operating temperature
- -20°C to +40°C
- Storage temperature
- -30°C to +60°C
- Startup temperature
- -25°C
- Mass
- 69 kg per CMG
- Dimensions
- mechanism 550 mm x 500 mm x 570 mm, electronics 390 mm x 250 mm x 175 mm
- Power
- 57 W @75 Nms (quasi-static), 145 W (max maneuver)
- Interface
- MIL 1553 data bus
About
Airbus offers a range of Control Moment Gyroscopes (CMGs) tailored for diverse satellite needs, providing precise agility and high reliability for attitude control. The range comprises three compact and efficient models — CMG 15-45S, CMG 40-60S, and CMG 75-75S — covering satellite masses from 500 kg to 3 tonnes, with torque outputs up to 75 Nm. The CMGs feature patented designs and integrated vibration dampers, enabling fast manoeuvres while minimising power consumption. Collectively, the CMG family has surpassed 1 million cumulative operational hours in orbit without failures, demonstrating long-term durability and mission success over more than a decade of flight heritage. Airbus’s research department continues to develop the CMGs, working on aspects such as optimizing equipment mass and torque performance to deliver greater agility. The product family also relates to Airbus’s Newton CMG Package avionics offering and the company’s broader work on space sustainability technologies such as the Detumbler.
Documentation
- Datasheet_SpE_CMG75-75S_2022.pdf PDF source: airbus.web.factory.eu.airbus.com ↗
- Datasheet_SpE_CMG40-60S_2022.pdf PDF source: airbus.web.factory.eu.airbus.com ↗
- Datasheet_SpE_CMG15-45_2022.pdf PDF source: airbus.web.factory.eu.airbus.com ↗
- AVIONICS-NEWTON CMG PACKAGE-v3_2022.pdf PDF source: airbus.web.factory.eu.airbus.com ↗
Need the full ICD, test reports or a specific revision? Ask the supplier directly.