Issued patent
Miniaturized Astrometric Alignment Sensor
An issued NASA patent from the Technology Transfer catalog.
About this technology
Overview
Miniature satellites, sometimes called CubeSats, are mainly used for space research. These satellites are employed to demonstrate spacecraft technologies intended for small satellites or that present questionable feasibility and are unlikely to justify the cost of a larger satellite. Scientific experiments with unproven underlying theory may also find themselves aboard because their low cost can justify higher risks. There is a need for space-qualified pointing and alignment stellar sensor hardware. Alignment sensors can be used for virtual telescope demonstrations and other satellite experiments in heliophysics. Ultimately, dual spacecraft space telescopes capable of imaging solar flares in the x-ray band, high energy UV solar imaging, and gamma-ray imaging of galactic cores of stellar systems require alignment sensors to some degree. The Miniaturized Astrometric Alignment Sensor advances alignment stellar sensor hardware.