Text File | 1995-11-27 | 877 b | 9 lines | [TEXT/ttxt]
Star Trackers
5
H|0|acm|Attitude Control Module|50|72|
H|0|obc|on-board computer|135|151|
G|0|magnitudes|magnitudes|406|415|
G|0|ss|solid-state|243|253|
A|2||star trackers|82|94|86,65,86,183,
Protruding through the starboard wall of the Attitude Control Module are two star trackers, whose sole function is to provide the on-board computer with information pertaining to the spacecraft's orientation. Each star tracker is a fixed solid-state camera which looks at the sky and reports to the on-board computer any stars it has detected and tracked. The computer then compares the positions and magnitudes of the identified stars to a digital catalog of 327 stars, and from that information estimates TOPEX/Poseidon's orientation in space. If this estimation differs from the on-board computer's internal model, corrective commands are issued to the Attitude Control System.
