Optical sensors for attitude control systems on balloons
Nati ; F ; - ASI Sponsor
Jan - 2008

journal : Memorie della Societa Astronomica Italiana
type: Article Journal

Abstract
A brief review of optical devices used on balloon borne experiments for attitude control is given. I focus mainly on systems used for telescopes aimed to study the microwave emission of the sky, in particular the Cosmic Microwave Background and its features. Different methods have been developed due to different flight conditions and scientific goals. We explain the advantages of the several sensors and optical devices with respect to specific requirements, i.e. night or daytime, fast spinning payloads or high resolution telescopes. The most common solutions are star sensors and sun sensors. They make use of CCD cameras or photo-diodes arrays, coupled with mirrors or lenses, depending on the specific experiment.

keywords : attitude control systems,balloon borne telescopes,optical sensors