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The cubesat sun sensor determines the spacecraft body angles with respect to the sun. The sensor is extremely small and light to minimise the demands on nano-spacecraft. The sensor achieves much higher measurement accuracy than traditional photodiode cosine sensors.

The sensor consists of a CMOS PSD detector sitting behind a small pin-hole with a field of view of +/- 60 degrees. The device produces four analogue voltages that are dependant on the incident angle of sunlight in the horizontal and vertical directions. Each sensor is supplied with a calibration algorithm that calculates the sun vector from these four voltages to an accuracy of +/-0.2 degrees.

FUNCTIONAL CHARACTERISTICS

Field of view: 120°
Update Rate: > 10 Hz (limited by ADC)
Accuracy: < 0.5°

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Mass: < 5 g
Power: < 5 mA
Size: 33mm x 11mm x 6mm

ENVIRONMENTAL SPECIFICATIONS

Operating temperature: -25°C to +50°C
25g rms random, 5000g shock
10krad total dose (component level)

INTERFACES

Power Supply: 3.3 or 5 V
I/F: 4 analogue channels, 9-way Nano-D connector

FEATURES

PSD architecture
Good accuracy
Wide field of view
Ultra Small size and low mass
Low power
Simple analogue interface

APPLICATIONS

Accurate determination of sun-angle
Four to six sensors can achieve full sky coverage
Used in conjunction with a magnetometer for simple attitude control
Can be used as safe-mode sensors on gyro or star-mapper controlled systems

Click on the image to download the datasheet.



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	Overview Technical Details Photo's Datasheet The cubesat sun sensor determines the spacecraft body angles with respect to the sun. The sensor is extremely small and light to minimise the demands on nano-spacecraft. The sensor achieves much higher measurement accuracy than traditional photodiode cosine sensors. The sensor consists of a CMOS PSD detector sitting behind a small pin-hole with a field of view of +/- 60 degrees. The device produces four analogue voltages that are dependant on the incident angle of sunlight in the horizontal and vertical directions. Each sensor is supplied with a calibration algorithm that calculates the sun vector from these four voltages to an accuracy of +/-0.2 degrees. FUNCTIONAL CHARACTERISTICS Field of view: 120° Update Rate: > 10 Hz (limited by ADC) Accuracy: < 0.5° PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS Mass: < 5 g Power: < 5 mA Size: 33mm x 11mm x 6mm ENVIRONMENTAL SPECIFICATIONS Operating temperature: -25°C to +50°C 25g rms random, 5000g shock 10krad total dose (component level) INTERFACES Power Supply: 3.3 or 5 V I/F: 4 analogue channels, 9-way Nano-D connector FEATURES PSD architecture Good accuracy Wide field of view Ultra Small size and low mass Low power Simple analogue interface APPLICATIONS Accurate determination of sun-angle Four to six sensors can achieve full sky coverage Used in conjunction with a magnetometer for simple attitude control Can be used as safe-mode sensors on gyro or star-mapper controlled systems Click on the image to download the datasheet.