Digital Sun Sensor (±32°)
Adcole Space (Redwire)
A two-axis digital sun sensor with ±32° field of view offering higher accuracy than the ±64° variant. Radiation-hardened to 100 krad (Si) with Hi-Rel components for GEO and deep-space missions.
Technical specifications
- Field of View
- ±32°
- Axes
- 2 (per optical head)
- Output
- Serial digital — two 10-bit words + sun presence bit
- Radiation Hardness
- 100 krad (Si)
- Components
- Hi-Rel qualified
- Heritage
- Yes
- Status
- In Production
About
The Adcole Space Digital Sun Sensor (±32°) is a precision two-axis digital sun sensor providing better accuracy and resolution over a narrower ±32° field of view compared to the ±64° DSS model. It is typically used for medium-to-high accuracy attitude determination in Earth-orbiting and interplanetary missions where tighter sun angle knowledge is required.
Like the ±64° variant, each DSS32 system consists of one or more optical heads per electronics unit, with each head delivering two axes of sun angle data. The output is a serial digital data stream consisting of two 10-bit data words plus one dedicated sun presence bit, enabling direct spacecraft computer interfacing with no analog signal conditioning required.
The DSS32 is radiation hardened to 100 krad (Si) and uses Hi-Rel components throughout, making it suitable for GEO, MEO, and deep-space missions. Its reduced FOV compared to the DSS64 provides improved angular accuracy for applications requiring more precise sun pointing knowledge.
Documentation
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