CubeSat Pointing refers to the technologies and methods used to control the orientation of CubeSats in space. Precise pointing is crucial for missions requiring accurate data acquisition, such as Earth observation, astronomy, and laser communication. Challenges in CubeSat pointing arise from their small size, limited power, and the need for cost-effective solutions. Companies like CubeSat Pointing offer autonomous attitude determination and control systems (ADCS) for CubeSats, incorporating components like gyroscopes, magnetometers, and reaction wheels to achieve accurate and stable pointing.
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The KU Leuven star tracker from CubeSat Pointing has a baffle sun rejection angle of 40 degrees, a lost-in-space availability of greater than 99% of the night sky, requires 3.3 V interface supply, consumes nominally less than 1 W, and measures 95 x 50 x 0.045 m.
Cubesat pointing stability has improved over the last five to ten years, evolving from uncontrolled tumblers to platforms with the stability necessary to acquire astronomically interesting data.