Inertial Stellar Compass

Draper Laboratory’s Inertial Stellar Compass (ISC), is the world’s first in-space validation of a MEMs gyro in a fully functioning attitude determination system. The ISC combines a star camera and MEMs gyro with a microprocessor to provide a full 3-axis attitude determination system in a low power (3.6 W) and low-mass (less than 3 kg) package, less than half the power and mass of comparable conventional systems. Developed at Draper Laboratory and utilizing Draper’s own Tuning Fork Gyro MEMs package, this flight validation represents a major leap forward in navigation sensors and in MEMS technology for space applications. The following papers provide background on the design and development of the ISC.