NSS Fine Sun Sensor

NewSpace Systems

The sun sensor determines the spacecraft body angles with respect to the sun. It accepts configuration commands and outputs digital angles and telemetry over a serial interface to the on-board computer. The unit is powered from unregulated DC power from the spacecraft.

The front surface of the sensor is a mirror with slits cut in the reflective metal. Sunlights passes through these slits and then through an optical filter. Below this is an array of photosensors interfaced to a micro-controller.

The charge on the photosensors are read by the micro-controller, which processes the image and computes the sun vector. The vector and other telemetry is returned to the spacecraft through the serial interface.

Specification: The NFSS-411 was first flown in 2007. Since then, it has been used on a number of constellations with a total of over 100 delivered. The NCSS-SA05 has also been delivered, more than one hundred units, to a multitude of international satellite programmes.

●Accurate determination of sun-angle
●Four sensors can achieve full sky coverage
●Used in conjunction with a magnetometer or simple attitude control
●Can be used as saf°e-mode sensors on gyro or star-mapper controlled systems
●Digital architecture
●High accuracy
●Wide field of view
●Small size and mass
●Field of view 140°
●Update rate 5 Hz
●Accuracy +/- 0.1°
●Digital I/F: UART, SPI, I2C, CAN or RS-485/422

Documents: NewSpace Sun Sensor – Datasheet

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NSS Fine Sun Sensor

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