Plug-and-Play Inertial Measurement Unit

In Phase II, the Microcosm team proposes to develop a MEMS IMU that will provide nanosatellites with a low-cost, low-power, small-footprint navigation sensor that outputs information on par with LN-200 class IMUs. The MEMS IMU will be designed with plug-and-play (PnP) capability consistent with proposed spacecraft PnP avionics (SPA) interface standards being developed at AFRL. Phase I developed an implementation of a MEMS IMU and the associated appliqué sensor interface module (ASIM) for retrofitting off-the-shelf devices with the AFRL Responsive Space Testbed (RST). Phase II activities will focus on creating an integrated system version of the PnP MEMS IMU that has higher fidelity by using a MilliSensor Systems and Actuators, Inc. MEMS IMU on-a-chip, being developed under contract to the Air Force. The sensor head, fabricated by MSSA, will be augmented with read electronics, filtering, and PnP ICD capabilities by Microcosm in a coherent package, demonstrating the overall sensor concept, including SPA compatibility. The Phase II product will be a PnP MEMS IMU that is ready for demonstration in the RST, where the design will be verified so that it can be translated into a field programmable gate array implementation for the flight-qualified component.