Project - Coarse Sun Sensor

• Project name: Design and Development of a Solar Sensor for Satellite Constellations.
• Industry:  Space

Description: The project consists on the design and development of a robust and high reliable coarse sun sensor for attitude control to be used in constellations of satellites. The general objectives of the project are:

• To increase the level of development in the technology coarse sun sensors for AOCS systems.
• To optimize the design, functionality, manufacturing processes, cost and quality procedures towards the industrialization of the production.

Description (Spanish):  Solar MEMS Technologies SL participates individually in the project "DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF A SOLAR SENSOR FOR SATELLITE CONSTELLATIONS" with number IDI-20161025, co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the Operational Program Pluriregional Smart Growth 2014-2020 and the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness, through the Center for Industrial Technological Development (CDTI), in the 2017 call for Research and Development Projects (PID).

This project has focused on the development of a new solar sensor for satellites used in new constellations. The objective is to achieve a device with a reliability greater than 95% in missions of more than 7 years in low orbit, through a design with redundant units, a wide field of vision and that allows rapid integration in the satellite platform. To this end, a complete qualification campaign has been carried out including thermal, mechanical, electrical and radiation tests that simulate the conditions in orbit. On the other hand, a production plan has been carried out which, while maintaining the quality standards established in the space sector, has allowed the manufacturing processes used in this new device to be industrialized to lower production costs while maintaining reliability.