Current Work on High-Grade Space Gyros at Ferranti in the UK,
Abstract
Certain satellite missions require gyroscopes of very high accuracy for attitude measurement. Formerly, floated rate integrating gyros have been widely used. More recently in the USA, 2-axis DTG's have been used, and agencies are not beginning to consider what type of instrument to use in the future. Whereas most US companies have tended to abandon floated gyros in favour of dry gyros (principally on grounds of manufacturing cost, we suspect) we at Ferranti have continued to develop and improve floated instruments. We are firmly of the opinion that for many satellite missions they will continue to offer the best performance. Features such as fluid dissociation, which are rumoured to occur in floated gyros over a long period of time, can be controlled and minimized by care in design, assembly techniques, and cleanliness. In any event, the phenomena caused by fluid effects generally only affect g-sensitive performance aspects, which are of no relevance in orbital applications.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1984
- Accession Number
- ADP003385
Entities
People
- J. Welburn