High Accuracy, Radiation Hard Star Sensor

Based on an existing miniature star sensor called MicroMak currently in development, Microcosm will design a derivative star sensor with sub-arcsecond attitude accuracy, radiation tolerant to 300kRad, maintaining high performance for the life of the sensor. The high performance requirements demand a modified version of the baseline MicroMak design, including: 1) a larger optical head with greater aperture to detect dimmer stars, 2) smaller fields-of-view to yield higher inherent angular accuracy, 3) radiation-hardened focal plane arrays, 4) processing electronics suited for high radiation tolerance, and 5) structural modifications to minimize the total radiation dose impinging on electronic components, and to mitigate potential thermal distortion due to the increased size. The baseline MicroMak design incorporates inherent radiation-tolerant features such as all-reflective optics and CMOS focal planes. The proposed high performance sensor will build on current development efforts and provide a truly unique, high accuracy, long-life star sensor for systems requiring high accuracy and long life, applicable for both government and commercial systems. Phase I focuses on required design modifications to MicroMak. A key aspect of the work will include identifying appropriate electronics to meet the radiation requirements, and validating the modified larger design in terms of optical performance, and thermal considerations.