Hardware selection for attitude determination and control subsystem of 1U cube satellite

The attitude determination and control system is required by a satellite in order to monitor and control its orientation during orbiting around Earth. It operates in a similar manner of the autopilot used by aircraft and missiles. Sensors determine attitude of satellite, while actuators act to modify the orientation of it to point at a reference direction. For small satellites such as nanosatellites, and cube satellites in particular, the size and weight of sensors and actuators are so limited. Thus, the selection of the right sensors and actuators as well as the processor is a very crucial task in the design of the attitude determination and control subsystem of a cube satellite. Hardware selection is vital due to existence of various sensors, actuators and processors that are applied in satellites.