Kazakh engineers make sun sensors for satellites
This was announced half a year ago during the press tour of Kazakhstan journalists to the National Space Center in Astana when the media representatives visited the test area of the premises where sun sensors for Kazakhstan's future satellites STSAT are made.
Today Galam LLP is busy manufacturing four sun sensors, one of which will be installed on the satellite and the other three will be tested on the Earth.
A sun sensor is a navigational instrument used by spacecraft to detect the position of the sun. Sun sensors are used for measuring the angle position of the sun and form proportional electric signals for the aircraft control system. In addition to spacecraft, sun sensors find use in ground-based weather stations and sun-tracking systems, and aerial vehicles.
To transfer the production technology of sun sensors BASS-17 and BASS-7, the specialists of Galam LLP had a five-week training in Toulouse at Airbus D&S, Galam Director for Development Sergey Murushkin said.
During the training the first summer model of BASS-17 sun sensor was made. In Kazakhstan production of the first summer model was performed during May 12-31, 2016 under the guidance of Airbus D&S. The sensor was sent to Toulouse for testing and proved to conform to all quality norms.
Based on the State Program of Space Development in Kazakhstan for 2010-2014, Kazakhstan market demands 5 sensors a year, according to Galam LLP.