Friday, July 23, 2010

Spin Stabilization

So yesterday, I posted a little description of what I do, in our first Engineering Spotlight. I know it can be hard to imagine how spinning wheels can basically reorient or stabilize a spacecraft. It was hard to imagine when I first learned about it. But what my prof did then, and what I'm doing for you now, is showed a video that made it a little easier to grasp.

So watch this video!

Cool, isn't it?

This spinning technique is why many satellites are "spin stabilized". This means the satellite is essentially always rotating. Like the CDs in the video, this rotation makes it harder for the satellite to be disturbed. An astronaut can poke it, and the effect will be minimized.

This is all part of Attitude Determination and Control!

Any questions?

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