2. Solar collectors
Of all optical sensors, solar collectors are the most widely used. This is mainly due to the intrinsic characteristics of the Sun, namely :
its energetic radiation, equivalent to a luminance of 2 · 10 7 W · m –2 · sr –1 or an average illuminance outside the atmosphere of 1,350 W · m –2 , which makes it possible to use simple, reliable equipment without detection problems due to an excessively low signal-to-noise ratio;
its inertial galactic position and apparent angular diameter ("32' as seen from Earth), which greatly simplify attitude determination algorithms;
its spectral emission, which is...
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Solar collectors
Star sensors
Bibliography
References
Manufacturers and suppliers
Ball Aerospace (USA)
Goodrich (Division of Barnes Engineering and Ithaco) (USA)
Geofizika (Russia)
Jena-Optronik GmbH (Germany)
LMA (Lockheed Martin Astronautics) (USA)
NT Space (Nec Toshiba Space) (Japan)
Galileo AvionicaOptics and Space Division (Italy)...
Organizations
CNES (Centre National d'Études Spatiales) : Headquarters (Paris) & Toulouse Center
ASE/ESA (Agence Spatiale Européenne/European Space Agency): Headquarters (Paris) & ESTEC (Noordwijk – Netherlands)
ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization)
NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration)
GSFC (Goddard Space Flight...
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