Magellan Aerospace has begun integrating its GyroWheel attitude control device into its SCISAT-1 small satellite.SCISAT-1, to be used as a GyroWheel test platform, has been designed by Magellan and is funded by the Canadian Space Agency to study ozone depletion.
A satellite typically has three-attitude control devices, one for each axis, along with a back-up. "GyroWheel combines the functionality of all three devices and adds the functionality of a rate device," says Ken Kohut, Magellan space and rocket marketing.
Using a second GyroWheel gives redundancy, but the pair will save up to 50% mass and reduce power consumption and cost while also requiring less integration, says Kohut.
GyroWheel has a spinning rotor attached to a drive shaft through a gimbal system that uses flex pivots on two axes to allow the rotor to tilt by up to 7¡. The third axis of control is from the rotor's spin. Torque coils on the housing interact with magnets in the rotor to allow steering of the angular momentum vector. Optical sensors are used to trace transitions on a triangular pattern around the outside of the rotor's spherical surface and provide tilt angle measurement.
Source: Flight International