Satellites and subsystems > Attitude > Attitude sensors > Sun sensors > AQUILA-H01 Sun Sensor
Key highlights
A sun sensor determines a spacecraft’s orientation with respect to the sun. The front surface of the NewSpace Systems (Aquila) sun sensor is a synthetic sapphire window with a reflective metal coating beneath it. Slits are etched in the metal, and sunlight passes through them and an optical filter onto a sensor.
The charge on the photo sensors is read by the microcontroller, which processes the image and computes the sun vector. The vector and other telemetry are returned to the spacecraft through the serial interface. The unit can be powered from unregulated DC power from the spacecraft.
Applications
- Accurate determination of sun-angle
- Can be used in conjunction with a magnetometer for simple attitude control
- Can be used as safe-mode sensors on a gyro or star-mapper-controlled systems
- Four sensors can achieve full sky coverage
Key features
- Ultra-small size and low mass
- Low power
- Simple to interface
- Wide field of view
- Digital architecture (Albedo immune)
- Calibration embedded
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Last updated: 2025-08-12
Technical specs
idle: < 8mA [40mW] (application mode)
active: <30mA [150mW]
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