Sun sensors are the most widely used type of sensors in the aerospace field,and all satellites are equipped with sun sensors.Equipment used for orbit and attitude control of spacecraft.An optical attitude sensor that determines the orientation of the sun vector in celestial coordinates by detecting the orientation of the sensitive sun vector,in order to obtain information about the spacecraft’s relative orientation to the sun.
The composition of a sun sensor mainly includes three aspects:optical head,sensor part,and signal processing part.
0-1 type sun sensor : Also known as the sun discovery detector,can generate output signals as long as there is a sun,which can be used to protect instruments and position spacecraft.Its structure is also relatively simple,with a slit on the top of the sensor and a photovoltaic cell attached to the bottom.When the satellite searches for the sun,once the sun enters the detector’s field of view,the photovoltaic cell generates a step response,indicating the discovery of the sun.
Simulated sun sensor : Photocells are commonly used as its sensor components,and its output signal strength is related to the angle of incidence of sunlight.Its accuracy is acceptable for communication satellites,but it is too low for Earth observation satellites.Therefore,current communication satellites mainly rely on this analog sun sensor.
Digital Sun Sensor : Simple implementation principle,but their accuracy is difficult to meet the increasing requirements of satellite attitude control systems.In addition,analog sun sensors are prone to interference from other light sources such as reflected light from the Earth,which can cause errors in attitude measurement results.Therefore,digital sun sensors have made great progress.
With the increasing demand for attitude control accuracy from satellites and the development of small satellites,such as pico satellites,solar sensors are gradually moving towards miniaturization,modularization,standardization,and long lifespan,and require them to have a large field of view,high accuracy,and high reliability.Digital solar sensors are the first choice to meet these requirements.Therefore,digital sun sensors will become the development trend of it,and countries around the world are paying more and more attention to the development of digital sun sensors.
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TY-Space Technology (Beijing) Ltd. is professional focusing on advanced attitude optical sensors, especially Star Trackers for space industry.
