Jena-Optronik, a company that designs and manufactures precise and robust sensors for state-of-the-art AOCS and multi-spectral imagers for satellites has introduced a new Sun Sensor for earth observation satellites.
The Fine Sun Sensor FSS has been developed for medium to high accuracy pointing requirements of satellites to be applied for earth observation, navigation, and science. The FSS is a photodiode-based sun sensor with a high degree of flexibility to cope with a large variety of customer requirements with respect to the field of view and accuracy.
The sensor has a field of view of 128 degrees (α and β-channel) and has a channel accuracy of less than 0.15° [3σ]. It consists of a main and redundant channel and 2 redundant diode arrays for 2 orthogonal axes (α and β each). The sensor weighs less than 650 g and measures 160 x 145 x 56 mm.
The FSS is an analog sun sensor with a lifetime of more than 13 years. It is a fully space-qualified product and was delivered for ASTRIUM's GSTB-V2 and Alenia's Radarsat-2 as well as the CosmoSkymed satellite constellation.
The functional principle of the FSS is based on a slit mask that transfers the incoming sunlight on a photodiode arrangement. In dependence on the incident angle of the sunlight and the distance between the slit mask and the photodiode array, a defined number of responsive diodes are illuminated. The generated photocurrents are a function of the angle of incident light.
The Fine Sun Sensor combines low cost with short lead time and robust technology.
Click here to learn more about the Fine Sun Sensor from Jena-Optronik.
