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Lightweight Sun-Position Sensor DevelopedAn orbiting spacecraft needs to be able to accurately locate the position of the Sun so that the solar arrays can be pointed toward the Sun. This not only maximizes the production of power, but it also helps the arrays find their orientation in space so that they can accurately point antennae at ground stations. As part of the work on the (now postponed) Mars-2001 Surveyor Lander, NASA Glenn Research Center engineers developed a new Sun sensor that is far lighter and simpler than earlier designs. This sensor uses the technology of a linear photodiode array to find the position of the Sun in one axis. Two of these sensors, used together, can locate the x and y coordinates of the Sun relative to the spacecraft. These sensors have a mass of only 18 g each, nearly an order of magnitude lighter than earlier designs. (This mass does not include the electronic circuit to read the photodiode output, which is on the experiment microcontroller.) Near the center of the field of view, the Sun position can be found to 0.15
Document ID
20050196572
Acquisition Source
Glenn Research Center
Document Type
Other
Authors
Landis, Geoffrey A.
(NASA Glenn Research Center Cleveland, OH, United States)
Date Acquired
September 7, 2013
Publication Date
March 1, 2001
Publication Information
Publication: Research and Technology 2000
Subject Category
Instrumentation And Photography
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.
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