Sun Sensor

The Sun Sensor gives a near spacecraft or BalloonSat the capability to detect the sun's position related to the craft. Some experiments, cameras for instance, perform better when they don't point directly at the sun. By reading reports from the Sun Sensor, a flight computer can properly operate experiments based on the sloar quadrant.

Features of the NearSys Sun Sensor

1. Operates from the onboard power supply, no additional battery is required
2. Produces position reports imediately upon power and continues for the duration of the mission
3. Reports the sun's position in 90 degree intervals (45 degree intervals should be possible)
4. Easy to modify the Sun Sensors program in BASIC

A kit will become available this sumer. A price has not been deterined at this time, although it's not expected to be more than $50.

Sun Sensor Code

To program the GPS Simulator's PICAXE-14M, you'll need to download the PICAXE Programmer. It's free at this link