SPACECRAFT POSITIONING & CONTROL

Spacecraft Positioning & Control

In space, where GPS signals are unavailable and communication delays can be significant, autonomous onboard systems must accurately determine orientation and rotational rates to ensure mission success. Micro-Electro Mechanical Systems gyroscopes (MEMS) play a crucial role in space by providing reliable and precise angular motion measurements in a compact package essential for spacecraft navigation, attitude control, and stability.

MEMS are a key component in spacecraft Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs) and Inertial Navigation Systems (INS), which track attitude and motion in three dimensions. Accurate angular rate data from MEMS enables precise attitude control for orbital insertion, docking maneuvers, orientation for scientific observations, and stabilization during engine burns. They also support reaction wheel and thruster-based control systems, ensuring spacecraft maintain proper alignment with targets, Earth, or the sun. EMCORE QMEMS gyroscopes are well-suited to meet these demands.

Leveraging over sixty years of experience and proven performance in systems deployed in space, EMCORE’s CIRUS IRU and IMU deliver state-of-the-art, strategic-grade performance for inertial navigation, guidance, pointing, and stabilization for spacecraft attitude control, supporting DoD, NASA and commercial missions. Our QMEMS technology makes our MEMS gyroscopes an ideal suite of systems-conscious solutions for spacecraft and critical applications such as terrain navigation in distant locations. These devices are ultra-small and operate reliably with low noise and outstanding bias stability. Illustrating reliability and performance success inherent in these ruggedly designed models are the EMCORE QMEMS operating on the MARS Rover. Our EMCORE-HawkeyeTM series FOGs and FOG IMUs can also support space-based systems applications.