Spin stabilization is the method of stabilizing a

satellite A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioiso ...

or launch vehicle by means of spin, i.e. rotation along the longitudinal axis. The concept originates from

ballistics Ballistics is the field of mechanics concerned with the launching, flight behaviour and impact effects of projectiles, especially ranged weapon munitions such as bullets, unguided bombs, rockets or the like; the science or art of designing ...

, where the spin is commonly obtain by means of

rifling In firearms, rifling is machining helical grooves into the internal (bore) surface of a gun's barrel for the purpose of exerting torque and thus imparting a spin to a projectile around its longitudinal axis during shooting to stabilize the pro ...

. For most satellite applications this approach has been superseded by three-axis stabilization. Despinning can be achieved by various techniques, including yo-yo de-spin.

Use

On rockets with a solid motor upper stage, spin stabilization is used to keep the motor from drifting off course as they don't have their own thrusters. Usually small rockets are used to spin up the spacecraft and rocket then fire the rocket and send the craft off. Some rockets, like the Jupiter-C, Delta II,

Minotaur V The Minotaur V is an American expendable launch system derived from the Minotaur IV, itself a derivative of the LGM-118 Peacekeeper ICBM. It was developed by Orbital Sciences Corporation, (now absorbed into Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems) ...

and the satellite Aryabhata are spin-stabilised. The Pioneer 4 spacecraft, the second object sent on a lunar flyby in 1959, maintained its attitude using spin-stabilization. The Schiaparelli EDM lander was spun up to 2.5 RPM before being ejected from the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter prior to its attempted landing on Mars in October 2016. Another spin-stabilized spacecraft is Juno, which arrived at Jupiter orbit in 2016. In operation as a third stage, the

Star 48 The Star 48 is the largest of a family of solid rocket motors used by many space propulsion and launch vehicle stages. It is used almost exclusively as an upper stage. It was developed primarily by Thiokol Propulsion and is now, after several me ...

rocket booster sits on top of spin table, and before it is separated it is spun up to stabilize it during the separation from the previous stage.

References

Spacecraft attitude control Spaceflight technology {{Rocket-stub

Use

See also

References