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Definition

Inertial Measurement Unit

IMU

A package of gyroscopes and accelerometers that measures angular rates and linear accelerations. Used for short-term attitude propagation between absolute fixes from star trackers.

Related terms

Inclination

The angle between the orbital plane and the equatorial plane. Determines the range of latitudes the spacecraft ground tr...

International Traffic in Arms RegulationsITAR

US regulations controlling the export and import of defense-related articles, services, and technical data. Most spacecr...

Control Moment GyroscopeCMG

An attitude actuator consisting of a constant-speed rotor on a gimbal. Tilting the gimbal produces a much larger torque ...

Star Tracker

An attitude sensor that captures images of the star field and matches them against an onboard catalog to determine three...

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