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.
Technical specifications
- 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
- 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
- redwire-fine-spinning-sun-sensor-flysheet.pdf rdw.com ↗
- SatCatalog_-_Adcole_Maryland_Aerospace_-_Fine_Spinning_Sun_Sensor_-_Datasheet.pdf satcatalog.s3.amazonaws.com ↗
Need the full ICD, test reports or a specific revision? Ask the supplier directly.
