LONG-LIFE, 3-AXIS SATELLITE ATTITUDE SENSOR

SATELLITE LIFE IS OFTEN LIMITED BY FAILURE OF ROTARY GYROS. ADDITIONALLY, ATTITUDE CONTROL IN MANY SATELLITES REQUIRES FREQUENT UPLINK DATA REPLACEMENT. THIRDLY, ATTITUDE SENSORSARE VERY EXPENSIVE BECAUSE THEY ARE GENERALLY NEWLY CREATED FOR EACH PROGRAM. IN THIS PROGRAM QUANTIC WILL DEVELOP THE DESIGN FOR A NEW GYROLESS ATTITUDE SENSOR PACKAGE WHICH CAN BE USED FOR ALL 3-AXIS STABILIZED GEOSYNCHRONOUS SATELLITES,WITH DESIGN GOALS OF UNLIMITED MECHANICAL LIFE, ENHANCED AUTONOMY, LOWER COSTS IN PRODUCTION, AND MINIMUM ON-ORBIT TELEMETRY SUPPORT. IN PHASE I, FOUR INSTRUMENTAL CONCEPTS WILL BE EVALUATED: EARTH SENSOR FOR PITCH AND ROLL, POLARIS TRACKER FOR YAW, QUANTIC'S LOW-COST YAW SENSOR, AND AN INTEGRATED ROLL/PITCH/YAW SENSOR BUILT IN A SINGLE OPTICAL HEAD. PHASE I IS PRIMARILY ANALYTICAL, BUT WILL INCLUDE BREADBOARDTESTS AS NEEDED. TRADEOFF STUDIES WILL BE PERFORMED TO DERIVE AN OPTIMIZED DESIGN. THIS DESIGN WILL BE EVALUATED FOR ITS RELIABILITY, ACCURACY, WEIGHT, POWER, DEVELOPMENT AND MANUFACTURING COST, AND REQUIRED GROUND SUPPORT.