ADCS COMPONENTS
Attitude Determination & Control Systems
ADCS Hardware for CubeSats
Reaction wheels, magnetorquers, and a control board, built around a common mechanical and electrical interface for CubeSats up to 12U.
The Stack
One Control Board, Two Actuator Types
The AsterAxis ADCS stack pairs a control board with two actuator types: reaction wheels for continuous attitude control, and magnetorquers for detumbling and momentum management. The reaction wheel, magnetorquer, and control board can be run together or integrated individually.
Determination & Control
ADCS Control Board
AsterAxis CB-1 · PC/104-compatible flight computer
AsterAxis CB-1 fuses sun sensor, magnetometer, gyro, and star tracker data into a real-time attitude estimate, then drives the reaction wheels and magnetorquers in closed loop. It handles detumble, sun-pointing, and full 3-axis control.
- Onboard EKF attitude determination and B-dot detumble control
- Four driving channels for reaction wheels and 3 magnetorquers
| Processor | 32-bit ARM Cortex-M7 |
|---|---|
| Power | 0.4 W avg / 0.9 W peak |
| Mass | 68 g |
| Envelope | 90 × 96 mm, PC/104 footprint |
| Operating temp. | −20°C to +60°C |
Actuation
Reaction Wheel
AsterAxis RW-10 · Single-axis momentum wheel
A brushless reaction wheel for continuous attitude control and precision slews. Three AsterAxis RW-10 units provide continuous 3-axis attitude control for missions requiring controlled pointing and slews.
- Low static and dynamic imbalance by design, intended to reduce jitter at high slew rates
- Sealed bearing assembly designed for continuous operation
| Max torque | 1.2 mN·m |
|---|---|
| Momentum storage | 5 mN·m·s |
| Max speed | ±6,500 RPM |
| Power | 0.35 W nominal / 1.8 W peak @ 12V |
| Mass | 92 g |
| Envelope | 30 × 30 × 32 mm |
| Interface | I²C / UART |
| Operating temp. | −20°C to +60°C |
Actuation
Magnetorquer
AsterAxis MTQ-1 · Air-core torque rod
A current-driven coil that produces magnetic torque by interacting with Earth's magnetic field, with no moving parts. AsterAxis MTQ-1 is used for detumbling after deployment and for momentum dumping before the reaction wheels saturate.
- No moving mechanical parts or bearing lubrication requirements
- Sized for either standalone B-dot detumble or AsterAxis CB-1-coordinated desaturation
- Available in rod or air-core coil configurations for tight volume budgets
| Magnetic moment | 0.2 A·m² |
|---|---|
| Power | 200 mW @ 5V |
| Mass | 55 g |
| Envelope | ⌀20 × 70 mm |
| Interface | PWM drive |
| Operating temp. | −40°C to +70°C |
Integration
Plug-and-Play 0.5U ADCS
A complete attitude control system in a single 0.5U module. Four reaction wheels, three magnetorquers, and the ADCS control board are integrated into one compact unit, reducing the hardware and integration work required on the spacecraft.
- 4 reaction wheels
- 3 magnetorquers
- Integrated ADCS control board
- 0.5U form factor
- Single integrated unit
- Designed for direct spacecraft integration
Engineering
Environmental Design
AsterAxis modules are designed for the launch and operating environments expected in CubeSat missions.
Thermal-Vacuum Testing
Thermal-vacuum testing is used during development to evaluate operation across the specified temperature range.
Vibration & Shock
Designed to withstand CubeSat launch vibration and shock environments.
Applications
Target Applications
Earth Observation
Attitude control for Earth-observation payloads on 3U–12U CubeSat platforms.
Communications & IoT Constellations
Attitude control for communication payloads and antenna pointing.
Technology Demonstration
Attitude control hardware for technology demonstration missions, provided with integration documentation.
Science & University Missions
Attitude control hardware for science and university CubeSat missions, with integration documentation provided.
Contact
Ready to Integrate?
Send us your mission parameters (bus size, orbit, pointing requirements) and we'll recommend a configuration.
contact@asteraxis.com · response within 2 business days