4 ms·
Quick (newbie) question - the coordinates given (XYZ) - are these oriented around the plane of travel, or some other scheme? i.e. the satellite is moving forwa
by fit2rule 11y ago
Quick (newbie) question - the coordinates given (XYZ) - are these oriented around the plane of travel, or some other scheme? i.e. the satellite is moving forward on the Y axis, right?
- zamalek 11y agoMost likely relative to the gyro's axes. Unless they use an accelerometer to calibrate to Earth's gravity well.
- ISL 11y agoWhen you're in freefall, an accelerometer tells you nothing :). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equivalence_principle http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equivalence_principle
- mikeash 11y agoTwo accelerometers could tell you something! They probably aren't sensitive enough to get the job done at that scale, though.
- ISL 11y agoTrue! Modern gravity gradiometers/differential accelerometers probably are sensitive enough for coarse orientation, particularly if they were deployed at the perimeter of the sail. To do so would, of course, obliterate LightSail's budget :) Source: worked on R&D for the LISA inertial reference system.