Inertial reference unit design for small spacecraft

Clifford O. Swanson; Edgar Barton Jr.

doi:10.1117/12.178976

5 July 1994 Inertial reference unit design for small spacecraft

Clifford O. Swanson, Edgar Barton Jr.

Proceedings Volume 2221, Acquisition, Tracking, and Pointing VIII; (1994) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.178976
Event: SPIE's International Symposium on Optical Engineering and Photonics in Aerospace Sensing, 1994, Orlando, FL, United States

Abstract

Significant technical considerations prompted the start of an evolution, twenty years ago, from the use of the floated, rate- integrating gyro to the dynamically tuned gyro (DTG) for the precision, three-axis attitude control of spacecraft. DTG's have since then been widely applied in U.S. spacecraft. The anticipated advent of smaller, lower cost spacecraft prompted the development of a new generation, lower cost, low weight (3.6 lb/1.8 kg), moderate performance inertial reference unit (IRU) for such applications by making use of the miniature CONEX DTG. The resulting two-axis rate assembly has already been qualified and delivered to two programs. In parallel, development of a miniature, three-axis ring laser gyro has proceeded to the point where an inertial measurement unit has entered the early phase of production for a tactical missile program. Simple modification of the hardware will provide a production-based IRU or IMU design at a cost advantage for spacecraft applications.

Citation Download Citation

Clifford O. Swanson and Edgar Barton Jr. "Inertial reference unit design for small spacecraft", Proc. SPIE 2221, Acquisition, Tracking, and Pointing VIII, (5 July 1994); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.178976

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