Spin stabilization is the method of stabilizing a

satellite A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioi ...

launch vehicle A launch vehicle or carrier rocket is a rocket designed to carry a payload ( spacecraft or satellites) from the Earth's surface to outer space. Most launch vehicles operate from a launch pads, supported by a launch control center and ...

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 For most satellite applications this approach has been superseded by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 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, et ...

. 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,

Delta II Delta II was an expendable launch system, originally designed and built by McDonnell Douglas. Delta II was part of the Delta rocket family and entered service in 1989. Delta II vehicles included the Delta 6000, and the two later Delta 7000 ...

, Minotaur V and the satellite

Aryabhata Aryabhata ( ISO: ) or Aryabhata I (476–550 CE) was an Indian mathematician and astronomer of the classical age of Indian mathematics and Indian astronomy. He flourished in the Gupta Era and produced works such as the ''Aryabhatiya'' (which ...

are spin-stabilised. The

Pioneer 4 Pioneer 4 was an American spin-stabilized uncrewed spacecraft launched as part of the Pioneer program on a lunar flyby trajectory and into a heliocentric orbit making it the first probe of the United States to escape from the Earth's gravity. ...

spacecraft, the second object sent on a lunar flyby in

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

, maintained its attitude using spin-stabilization. The

Schiaparelli EDM lander Schiaparelli may refer to: * Schiaparelli (surname), Italian surname * Schiaparelli (fashion house), founded by Elsa Schiaparelli and later revived Astronomy * Schiaparelli (lunar crater), a relatively small crater in the LQ10 (Seleucus) quadran ...

was spun up to 2.5 RPM before being ejected from the

ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter The ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO or ExoMars Orbiter) is a collaborative project between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Russian Roscosmos agency that sent an atmospheric science, atmospheric research orbiter and the Schiaparelli EDM, ...

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 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.

References

Spacecraft attitude control Spaceflight technology {{Rocket-stub

Use

See also

References