Development of a Fine Digital Sun Sensor for STSAT-2

Abstract

Satellite devices for fine attitude control of the Science & Technology Satellite-2 (STSAT-2). Based on the mission requirements of STSAT-2, the conventional analog-type sun sensors were found to be inadequate, motivating the development of a compact, fast and fine digital sun sensor (FDSS). The FDSS uses a CMOS image sensor and has an accuracy of less than 0.03degrees, an update rate of 5Hz and a weight of less than 800g. A pinhole-type aperture is substituted for the optical lens to minimize its weight. The target process speed is obtained by utilizing the Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), which acquires images from the CMOS sensor, and stores and processes the image data. The sensor accuracy is maintained by a rigorous centroid algorithm. This paper describes the FDSS designs, realizations, tests and calibration results.