Small Spacecraft Technologies
Attitude Control
Attitude control is mandatory for spacecraft flight dynamics. Using attitude control systems, SDL can track the small satellite orientation and make changes when necessary. SDL uses star cameras and trackers and develops algorithms to assist in attitude control.
Reaction Wheels
SDL has a history of working with and developing reaction wheels, which are a type of flywheel used to change spacecraft angular momentum without using rocket fuel. The SDL-developed reaction wheels are designed to fit the PEARL spacecraft bus.
Sun Sensors and Star Trackers
For navigation and pointing accuracy, SDL uses sun sensors, combined with star trackers.
Star Cameras
SDL has developed a miniature Star Camera based on its Digital Imaging Space Camera (DISC) product line. The DISC Star Camera is a science enabling technology for missions that require more stringent pointing knowledge than is currently available on extremely small satellites. Utilizing a radiation-hardened focal plane, it is able to detect down to magnitude 6 stars.
Miniaturized Visible Imagers
SDL’S Digital Imaging Space Camera (DISC) is a one mega-pixel visible, monochromatic imager that uses less than 1.5 watts of power. DISC includes highly flexible image control, including such features as windowing, adjustable frame rates, and adjustable integration times. It is designed entirely of radiation-hardened components and suitable for LEO, MEO, and GEO orbits. DISC is based on a radiation hardened CMOS image sensor with a wide, adjustable dynamic range, fixed-pattern noise (FPN) correction and dual-slope integration.
