Spin stabilization is the method of stabilizing a
satellite or
launch vehicle by means of spin, i.e. rotation along the longitudinal axis. The concept originates from
ballistics, where the spin is commonly obtain by means of
rifling. For most satellite applications this approach has been superseded by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
The Jupiter-C was an American research and development vehicle developed from the Jupiter-A. Jupiter-C was used for three unmanned sub-orbital spaceflights in 1956 and 1957 to test re-entry nosecones that were later to be deployed on the more ...
,
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) an ...
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 ...
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.
See also
*
Gyroscope
*
Spin-stabilized satellite
Spacecraft attitude control is the process of controlling the orientation of a spacecraft (vehicle/satellite) with respect to an inertial frame of reference or another entity such as the celestial sphere, certain fields, and nearby objects, ...
References
Spacecraft attitude control
Spaceflight technology
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